CANDICE WARNER
THE IRONWOMAN TALKS ABOUT HER NEW GIG ON THE BACK PAGE
Tell us how your presenting role on The Back Page came about.
So last year, I started doing a guest panellist spot where I would be on every second or every third week. But this year, I got an o er to do it more regularly. For me it was “of course”, because The Back Page is a show that I’ve watched religiously for the last 15 years, so to get that opportunity and to work with alongside Tony [Squires] is fantastic. He’s nurturing, he teaches me a lot – I’m still learning, so for me it’s been really fantastic for Fox [Sports] to give me this opportunity. And how does it feel to be back in front of the camera full-time?
I really love it, but what I love the most is being able to talk about sport. And not just about cricket, which I know a little bit about, but to talk about rugby league, which is a sport that I’ve grown up watching and going to the games with my dad and supporting. So to get the opportunity to talk weekly about rugby league or showcase more women in sport, whether it be the NRLW or the AFLW – just being able to talk about all sports … it’s a dream come true. As a former athlete, how does it feel to be on the other side now and interviewing your peers?
I love it, and because I don’t have that journalist background, I can see things from an athlete’s point of view. I’m not just going in for a headline, I actually can understand the mindset of an athlete or understand why they might do certain things or how it can a ect their family or their friends or their clubs. So just having that insight, I think, has been really good. Obviously sports is a very male-dominated arena. Do you think it’s important to have a female perspective?
Without a doubt, we’ve seen so much more female sport on TV now and whether it be, you know, the NRLW, the cricket … I mean women’s cricket has just gone crazy in this country and in the world. So to not have a female on the panel would just be ridiculous. Fox has always done that so well – they have some fantastic women in all their coverages over all the di erent sports, not just on The Back Page. You’ve got three daughters yourself, are they involved in sports at all yet?
They are! They just want to be like dad [David Warner], so of course they play cricket, but they also play tennis, Oztag, they swim and play netball. There isn’t a sport that they don’t do or that they don’t try. So I love that and, you know, we’re all for trying what they love and when they
nd something that they want to stick with, then we’ll encourage them and support them however they need. (Catch (Catch Warner Warner on on The The Back Back Page Page every every Tuesday Tuesday at at 7.30pm 7.30pm on on Foxtel and Kayo Sports)