Only 5,715 people were there.
On a particularly warm autumn afternoon at Vitality Stadium on 12 October 2012, the returning Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth picked up a 2-0 win over Leyton Orient, but the fixture is now more significant for being the moment that Bianca Westwood smashed the glass ceiling for female football journalists.
That piece of work on the south coast changed the landscape for women in sport, particularly football.
Such enlightenment has encouraged so many to break barriers, challenge perceptions, and ultimately, achieve greatness on a professional and personal level, and it is no surprise that Bianca Westwood is a role model to so many across the globe, having accomplished so much across the last two decades at Sky Sports and become an important part of football fans’ lives.
Westwood was literally born to be a West Ham fan. Born in Stepney, her family roots are firmly planted in the East End. Her passion and knowledge for the game were evident for all to see from the second she stepped in front of the Gillette Soccer Saturday cameras.
Most recently, Bianca has been on stage at a number of UK theatres to host exclusive evenings of football nostalgia, fun and entertainment with Sky Sports legend Jeff Stelling, anchorman of the iconic Soccer Saturday for over 30 years.
In between, Westwood visited London Stadium to look back on her 22-and-a-half years at Sky Sports with pride and her support for the Hammers…
Where did it all begin for you, then, Bianca?
“I started off as a runner at Sky Sports in 2000, working on a variety of different sports, then was an NFL editorial assistant, then an associate producer, and then I badgered my producer to let me report on [Gillette] Soccer Saturday.
“I spoke to the producer of Soccer Saturday and told him that’s exactly what I wanted to do. I’m a huge football fan and loved the energy of Jeff [Stelling] and the panel. I just knew that’s what I wanted to do.
“In 2001, I was told someone left [Soccer Saturday], and the job was there if I wanted it. I started as an editorial assistant, assistant producer and then terrorised the producer until the point he gave me bits and pieces of reporting.
“It never entered my head [to be a reporter] until I saw Claire Tomlinson doing it. That’s when I believed I could be a reporter and knew what I wanted to do.”
Tell us what you remember of your Soccer Saturday debut in October 2012?
“It took a hell of a long time [to get the opportunity to report on Soccer Saturday], but I got there in the end. I spent some time shadowing Alan McInally and Chris Kamara throughout the summer and the start of the next season before I got the opportunity at Bournemouth v Leyton Orient.
“I was petrified! Live match reporting is a very specific skill, and unless you have tried it, you can’t recreate a live situation. You don’t know what’s happening next, and you can never prepare for it.
“You had to learn on that job, and I managed to do that and become successful at it.”
You were the first-ever female reporter on Soccer Saturday. How proud are you to have smashed the glass ceiling for women in sport, particularly football?
“I think anyone who does something like that, you don’t think about it at the time. I knew that there was going to be a reaction, but I did say to Jeff that I just wanted to be treated like everyone else. Of course he didn’t do that, but he knew I could take it and really helped me feel settled in the job.
“Looking back at those times, being the first female match reporter on Soccer Saturday is something I’m immensely proud of and is something that can never be taken away from me, and I feel really privileged to have done it.”
And, as you mentioned, you spent 22-and-a-half years at Sky Sports. How do you reflect on your time there?
“I loved my time at Sky, was lucky to be there when I was, and I wish I could do it all again!
“I watched hours and hours of football and got to see and hear things that no one else would get to see, which was something I never took for granted. Even in my final year, after all of the years of working at Sky Sports, I still had the same excitement and knew how lucky I was to be doing my job.”
You hosted and presented the last game at the Boleyn Ground – how special an occasion was that for you?
“I still get goosebumps whenever I think about that night because it was a dream come true to be asked.
“I grew up on the terraces at the Boleyn Ground as a kid throughout different eras, and to be there to say goodbye was an incredibly special moment. I got to present with Ben Shephard and interview Paolo Di Canio and Sir Trevor Brooking on the pitch, which was something I will never forget.
“It couldn’t have ended much better, as we won the game, and it is a night that will live long in the memory.”
You’re a big Hammer, too?
“We used to go as a family. My stepdad is a West Ham fan and went home and away since he was a kid, and my two brothers played for Ridgeway Rovers, the same team David Beckham played for as a kid, so it wasn’t like I had a choice!
“The first time I went to Upton Park was a night game, and I was around six or seven years old, and I just fell in love with West Ham from the very first moment and knew instantly it was something I wanted to do forever. My favourite season was the 1985/86 season when Frank [McAvennie], who was my idol, was banging the goals in with Tony Cottee.
“When I was with Sky, I got to work at a couple of West Ham League Cup games, one of which was against Millwall, and a couple of Premier League games in the last few years of my time there. I wasn’t really emotionally invested as a fan when I was working because I was more worried or concerned about doing a good job and getting it right.”
