Latest news with #BBC Scotland
BBC News
06-08-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Famous faces return to celebrate Sportscene at 50
Legendary figures will return to Sportscene on Saturday to celebrate 50 years of BBC Scotland's iconic Scottish football highlights Donnelly makes a comeback as presenter, with renowned commentary trio Archie Macpherson, Rob MacLean and Jock Brown covering the day's three Scottish Premiership who appeared on the inaugural Sportscene in 1975, will be behind the microphone for Motherwell's trip to St who has had two spells with the programme over a 25-year period, will cover Rangers' meeting with Dundee at Ibrox, while Brown, who featured on the show in the 1990s, will commentate on Livingston against a Sportscene veteran of 32 years, will be joined in the studio by current presenter Steven Thompson and former pundit Gordon Smith, both of whom will provide analysis of the day's action. "It was a great time for Scottish football and the Saturday night sports programme was absolutely required viewing," he said."I did 33 consecutive Scottish Cup finals – what a privilege to have been in the hot seat for so many of the big occasions, including all the World Cups and everything else. I was hugely lucky and very much appreciate that."The special edition, which will air exactly 50 years on from the programme's debut show, will also feature archive footage stretching back five decades."The big stand out game for me was the first cup final, because it was probably one of the best cup finals there had ever been," said Brown. "Motherwell 4-3 Dundee United after extra-time and the teams were managed by the McLean brothers – both of whom I knew very well! The game was an absolute cracker."I've done a lot of broadcasting since leaving Sportscene and I'm really looking forward to going back on the show. It'll be good fun. It's an iconic programme that has a big place in the story of sports broadcasting in Scotland."It all kicks off on the BBC Scotland channel and iPlayer at 20:15 BST on Saturday, with a repeat being shown on BBC One Scotland after midnight at 00:20.
BBC News
26-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'My world caved in' - Taylor on forced retirement
For any athlete who has reached the top of their sport, saying goodbye can be the hardest part. When that decision is taken out of your own hands, it becomes harder still."It's just been like my world's caved in," Josh Taylor tells BBC Scotland two weeks on from the devastating diagnosis that brought his boxing career to an immediate halt.A routine eye exam following defeat by Ekow Essuman in May showed extensive damage. An initial scan found a tear in the retinal tissue behind Taylor's left eye, but a closer examination found there were actually six. The specialist laid it out plainly - continue boxing and you risk going Tartan Tornado enjoyed a career few fighters could dream of - a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, an Olympian and, in 2021, becoming the first - and so far only - male fighter from the UK to win four belts in a single division to become undisputed world consecutive defeats in his past three bouts, Taylor did not want his storied career to finish on a losing note and had hoped for "one or two more fights", but the potential loss of his vision in one eye put paid to thoughts of a fairytale ending. The sudden transition from active fighter to former boxer has been tough to process."I'm feeling quite down in the dumps, to be honest," said the 34-year-old. "I've had two weeks to absorb it, but the more I think about it, the more upset I get."I know I've sort of completed the game in a sense in terms of becoming undisputed champion, but not going out on my own terms, it was kind of like a kick in the teeth."It was kind of like falling straight off the edge of a cliff. I'm not going to risk losing my sight for the sake of just one more fight. But it was like the end of my world." 'Heart-warming response softened the blow' Elite athletes often speak of the difficulty of transitioning out of the sport that has defined them for most of their life. The structure of a training schedule, the lofty goals to aim for and everything that drives them on a daily basis, it all disappears speaks incredibly honestly, and with visible emotion, about "the slump" he is experiencing since he was told his boxing career was has provided solace in this tough period is the mountain of messages, from fans and fellow fighters alike, paying tribute to the Scot for his magnificent achievements since he publicly announced his retirement on Monday."The messages of support that I've had has helped me, helped lift me cause it's made me feel a little bit better, made me feel appreciated, made me feel that I've done good in the sport," he says."I've had a lot of great messages from some high profile names and just my friends and people I haven't heard from in a long time."For the last few years I've had nothing but hate with every single post that I've written, there's always a section of the comments that there's just hate and stuff like that. I think this is the first one in the last two or three years that I've not had any."So the response has been quite heart-warming and made me appreciate what I achieved, kind of softened the blow a little bit and it's cheered me up a little bit. So I'd like to say thank you to everybody that's taken time to message me." 'Someone that wasn't afraid to be great' Taylor admits his diagnosis perhaps "saved me from myself" - a fighter will always want to the future now holds for the boy from Prestonpans who conquered the world is open to some punditry work and with his direct, unvarnished honesty, he would seem tailor made for will go back to where it all started, Lochend Boxing Club, to help out his friend and mentor Terry McCormack, inspiring the next generation. "Maybe we'll find the next Josh Taylor", he day he might even open his own gym in East Lothian. He has a lot left to give to the sport, even if his own time under the lights has now come to an how would Josh Taylor like to be remembered?"I don't know, I've never thought about it," he says."They're going to remember me any way they want, but I would like to hope they thought I was an all-action kind of fighter and wasn't afraid to take a fight."Someone that come up and took on all challenges and wasn't afraid to try to be great."Just a fighter."
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Livingston awaiting work permit approval for forward signing
Livingston are closing in on a forward signing, providing they get a "positive result" from a work permit panel on Thursday, says manager David told BBC Scotland the attacking player spent time with his side during their pre-season camp in the Netherlands and "showed up really well".The Livingston boss also revealed the club are in talks about another addition, adding: "We're also speaking to another club about a potential loan/permanent and there are one or two to move on from us."If the window shut today, I would be fairly happy. But if we can add one or two more and balance the books with one or two going the other way, that'll be great."
