GABBY LOGAN ‘I love the downtime around New Year’

Sports presenter Gabby on kitchen chaos and clearing cupboards

I think this Christmas will be one of

reflection. Many people have lost loved ones, and there are so many family members I haven’t seen. My granny has sadly not been very well and she’s been in and out of hospital and care homes and we’ve not been able to see her. I think a lot of us have taken meeting up with loved ones for granted in the past, but with time to pause and think, you realise what and who you value most. Usually, I host family at our house and

I hope we can do that this year. Ideally, it will be my husband, Kenny, and our twins, Lois and Reuben, who are 15 – plus my mum and mother-in-law and my brother with his family. My sister lives in the US, but I would love her to come over.

I’m the Christmas cook. Over the years, I’ve got pretty good at it, but as the children have got older, the portions have had to get bigger! My mum is good at rolling her sleeves up to help, and Kenny gets the drinks, but I can be a bit of a control freak in the kitchen. I don’t mind someone offering to do the spuds, but I don’t like it when people try to get too involved!

I’ve had a couple of either under- or over-cooked turkeys. One year, we discovered that part of the oven was broken – slightly stressful when you think your turkey has been happily cooking away! Thankfully, I always do two meats, so there’s a ham or a big joint of beef, too.

We love to get dressed up. As the chef, I’m cooking all morning and covered in grease, so I get about five minutes to run upstairs and throw a dress on. Both my mum and mother-in-law are very glamorous, and my daughter will come downstairs looking amazing. Meanwhile, I put my hair in a top knot and wear big earrings to distract from the fact that I have no make-up on – but it’s all part of the tradition.

I love the downtime around New Year. I’m often working at football matches around that time, so having a few days without a schedule feels like a real treat. I like to get up later, and catch up with friends. By the third day off, I start cleaning out cupboards! But I quite like that – it feels like a new year cleanse.

MY CHRISTMAS WISH... To be able to come together, to hug and to put the worst of this year behind us.

• Gabby’s podcast, The Midpoint, is available on all major podcast providers. See podfollow.com/midpoint