Reshmin Chowdhury exposes BBC Chat as she becomes MOTD Option

Reshmin Chowdhury is a potential contender to replace Gary Lineker on Match of the Day but she previously spoke about facing difficulties with BBC colleagues.

Gary Lineker will leave his presenting role at the end of the 2024/25 season.

News of his impending departure has led to speculation as to who might be the next host, with the likes of Alex Scott and Gabby Logan being linked to the job.

It is reported that TNT Sports anchor Reshmin Chowdhury has quietly emerged as a contender.

The 46-year-old has been a part of the BBC Sport team since 2010 and has even stood in as host of Match of the Day 2 in the past.

But it was at the BBC where Reshmin was allegedly a victim of ethnic and gender prejudice.

She previously said: “Being British Asian… I think I had to convince a lot of people that I knew about football.

“That was the most frustrating part… I mean, is it a surprise?

“I started off working in news, no one questioned me then. I have a politics degree, so it was quite normal.

“But when you come into sport, people look at you and they are thinking: ‘Does she know what she is really talking about?'”

Elaborating, she recalled one incident where two male colleagues asked her a niche question about Real Madrid, something she believed was a “test”.

Reshmin said: “I can remember when I was at the BBC a couple of guys asked me a question about a specific Real Madrid player.

“I knew they were testing me.

“And maybe this is the case for other women, and not just about colour – but they wouldn’t do that to another guy.”

Reshmin Chowdhury got her big break in 2008 when she became the presenter of Real Madrid TV.

She was the first journalist to interview Cristiano Ronaldo after his then-world record move from Manchester United.

Reshmin has since gone on to work for some of the world’s biggest broadcasters and host prestigious events such as the The Best FIFA Football Awards.

In the past, she has highlighted her difficulty in breaking into the industry and how she believes her ethnicity held her back.

Reshmin said:

“It shouldn’t be as hard as it was for me for someone getting into sports broadcasting now.”

“I believe it would have been 100 per cent easier if I had an ‘in’. The barriers to entry were everywhere. I didn’t have a famous sporting person in my family or know anyone in TV.

“We need more representation [in the industry]… It’s something I am passionate about. In the last five or six years, the doors have opened for women in sport. But that hasn’t always been the case.”

Reshmin is British Bengali and was born in London in an “open-minded, progressive Bengali Muslim” family.

She has become a role model for British Asian girls who are trying to follow in her footsteps.

Reshmin added: “I get Bengali parents who come up to me and tell me their daughters want to become sports journalists because they saw me.

“I can’t tell you how much that means to me. Every time I hear that my heart skips a beat.”