It seems that the sports presenters are being overhauled in British Television, since as Sky's Football coverage seems to have been revamped to accommodate messrs Neville and Carragher, in addition to the end of the line for Alan Hansen on the BBC, so too have a number of new faces been integrated into the BBC's coverage of the Commonwealth Games. Although such old hands as Hazel Irvine, John Inverdale, Gabby Logan and Clare Balding are still to the fore, it seems that viewers are witnessing something of a new generation in several of the main presentation and link roles.
Say "hello" to Helen Skelton, Jason Mohammad, Matthew Pinsent and Dougie Vipond!
Keeping the energy levels up during the morning heats of the swimming, Helen Skelton has presented a fresh face to the aquatic fans, ably assisted by ex-swimmers Mark Foster and Becky Adlington. The presenter doesn't need to be the expert but needs to do the basics well and have an ability to prompt the experts to provide an insight into their event, giving the viewer those "I never knew that" moments. Skelton's bubbly enthusiasm is evident (clearly carrying over from her days on children's staple show Blue Peter) and essential during the repetitive feeling of the heats. Like Gabby Logan, she too is married to a rugby player (in her case the Super League player Richie Myler) so clearly has a general sporting interest.
Jason Mohammad seems to be working his way up the BBC's presentation ladder. Last seen doing several of the link pieces during the Football World Cup in Brazil earlier this year, he will already be familiar to many from his spots on the BBC's Final Score and in Wales on such as Wales Today and Wales On Saturday. An apparent eagerness to throw himself into new activities while out and about with the locals in Brazil, may well have endeared him to key players at the Beeb, hence his key main presenter role prior to local Scottish favourite Irvine's stint.
Matthew Pinsent is of course very familiar to British sports fans from his golden Olympic days in the rowing, many shared with Sir Steve Redgrave, that yielded ten world championship wins in addition to those four consecutive Olympic victories. His move into broadcasting seems to be gradual, not focussing on the rowing events where Sir Steve seems to be the main focus, but instead lending his sporting enthusiasm to such as sailing during the 2012 Olympics and boxing during the Commonwealth Games.
Being a well-respected sportsman himself, it doesn't seem too much of a credibility stretch for him to introduce other events and discuss the finer points of pugilism with ex professionals like Richie Woodhall.
Dougie Vipond's involvement on a number of the links between events (what could be called the 'dead time' as the broadcaster fills the time before the next event starts) is probably mainly to provide a local element to the BBC's coverage, but nonetheless is a worthwhile introduction of his talents to a wider audience. Familiar to Scottish viewers from his time working for BBC Scotland, he has many other talents and 'strings to his bow' (or should that be 'sticks', given his time as drummer with the pop band Deacon Blue?). All in all, a number of fresh and interesting presenters to re-energise the BBC as we fast approach the next Olympics in Rio in 2016.
