‘I was making £30 when I started at TalkSport…now boring men troll me & tell me to go to the kitchen’, says Laura Woods
LAURA Woods has revealed that when she started working for talkSPORT, she was making just £30 a job.
Now, the 36-year-old, who is a pundit for this year's Euros, has become one of the most popular presenters in the land, with the star often the face of Champions League coverage.
Laura revealed all about what it’s really like to be a female in broadcasting on a recent episode of Staying Relevant, with reality TV stars Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson.
The TNT Sports and ITV star, who is dating Adam Collard, Love Island’s hot lothario, explained that she started out her career as a runner for Sky Sports, and then was working for just £30 when she went to talkSPORT.
The TV presenter and journalist revealed: “When I got the job on talkSPORT, I was literally doing these half an hour sections, reviewing the newspapers, for £30. It was five or six years ago. I asked ‘do you mean £300?’.
“But I didn’t care, I would’ve done it for free, I was so happy to be there.”
Read more on Laura Woods
The star, who recently faced a horror facial injury, shared that her love of sports started at a very young age.
She added: “I was always sporty, I’ve got brothers and that.
“My mum was our rugby coach. She’d take us to the rugby club, it was amazing.”
But Laura, who left the talkSPORT Breakfast Show earlier this year, explained that being a woman in sports broadcasting isn’t always easy.
“Because I’m an Arsenal fan, everything I say about Arsenal is clipped up and put on social media.
“I don’t really feel that qualified, I’m not a pundit.
"All of a sudden your words have all this weight, there’s such a big responsibility”, Laura shared.
The amount of stick I got from Arsenal fans - one of them said ‘you’re not a real supporter'
Laura Woods
Not only this, but when it comes to social media, dealing with trolls doesn’t come easy.
The dedicated Arsenal fan, who previously claimed that Twitter can be a “really nasty place”, admitted: “The amount of stick I got from Arsenal fans - one of them said ‘you’re not a real supporter’.
“It’s so frustrating.
“There’s some really weird people on social media.
Every time I have no shoes on in a photo - the amount of people that say I’ve got boat feet
Laura Woods
“Someone said ‘get back in the kitchen’ - the most boring one.”
And not only will haters criticise Laura’s love of Arsenal and hurl her with sexist remarks, but they also come out with very random criticisms about her appearance too.
The blonde beauty shared: “Every time I have no shoes on in a photo - the amount of people that say I’ve got boat feet.”
Clapping back at the keyboard warriors, Laura snapped: “They’re a size 7 which is the UK average for a woman by the way.”
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Laura's stalking hell
IT'S previously been reported that Laura Woods suffered two years of stalking hell.
The presenter was said to have been left in "real fear" after an obsessed stalker sent her vile messages and threatened to kidnap her dog.
She endured two years of torment as Harneet Kaur, 25, targeted her online and sent unwanted packages to her home.
Female Liverpool FC fan Kaur became infatuated with Laura back in 2021 and began visiting the street she lived on, a court heard.
The sick campaign involved terrifying threats to kill Laura's dog and vile messages where she referred to the pundit as a prostitute.
Bibles, sexual health tests and food orders were also arranged to be delivered to Laura's London pad.
Kaur used Just Eat to arrange for Krispy Kreme doughnuts to be delivered to the address.
Judge Talog Davies said Ms Woods was initially "pleasantly surprised and thought it was a mistake or somebody being nice", so posted a picture on her Twitter account saying they had "made her evening".
Kaur sent a Starbucks order and chocolate lollipop with the message: "From your secret admirer and I'm not crazy".
The contact then started turning "darker" when Woods, who presents for TNT Sport, was bombarded with messages.
One said she was a "former prostitute who slept herself into a job".
Kaur was arrested in April 2022 and re-arrested in August later the same year.
Her phone and iPad were seized both times, but that "didn't stop her".
In October, she posted a picture of Woods commentating at Anfield with the caption: "Wtf is that coke head doing at Anfield."
Kaur also sent messages saying Ms Woods was a 'Tory' and wasn't welcome in Liverpool ahead of a match she was due to attend.
Kaur, who has autism, was previously banned from Liverpool's ground for ticket touting.
While Kaur's barrister claimed her offending was down to autistic traits of "obsession and compulsion", judge Talog Davies rubbished the arguments.
Sentencing her to 14 months in prison, he said Kaur would have known the impact she was having on Woods.
Woods suffers from anxiety and has been forced to increase security at home and while at work.
Prosecutors said Kaur's actions had left Ms Woods with a "real fear" that the defendant would get close to her while she was working.