Elite hockey career made Katie Shanahan broadcasting’s calmest person and she’s ready for Alan Brazil at Cheltenham
There’s nothing quite like the chaos of live TV and radio.
Just ask Katie Shanahan.
Shanahan had wrapped up her duties as the Early Sports Breakfast presenter at talkSPORT Towers on January 22 and was at Waterloo station when she felt her phone buzz.
Within minutes, she made a mad dash back to the studio as beloved Breakfast host Alan Brazil was taken off air due to feeling unwell.
With Brazil’s Breakfast co-host Gabby Agbonlahor holding down the fort on his own for 15 minutes, Shanahan was thrust into hosting duties for the remainder of the show without so much as a second to prepare.
“You sit down, get your ear pieces in and all set up, get your notes out,” Shanahan told talkSPORT.com.
“Next minute, Vinnie Jones comes in.
“You just take it step-by-step. It’s a bit like managers saying game-by-game, you just say part-by part. We managed to get through and Alan is OK.”
The remainder of the show went off without a hitch, highlighting Shanahan’s remarkable ability as a broadcaster in what was very much a sink-or-swim moment.
Shanahan shoots down Brazil rumours
And, having had a taste of life in the presenter’s chair for talkSPORT Breakfast, some may have suspected Brazil’s absence was part of a cheeky ploy from Shanahan to take over his role.
But Shanahan was quick to point out there was no sinister plot at hand and she, like all of the talkSPORT listeners, was delighted when Brazil returned to the airwaves.
She will also be part of the large talkSPORT presence set to descend on Cheltenham where, along with providing coverage of the iconic racing festival, they will be keeping close tabs on Brazil’s whereabouts to ensure he shows up for his Breakfast slot.
“I love Alan Brazil, as we all do, the whole nation does,” Shanahan, who will be on talkSPORT Breakfast on Tuesday and Wednesday morning during Cheltenham week, said.
“Alan is such a legend and it’s such an honour to just be on the airwaves with him. We have so much fun, whether it’s me and Alan and Ally on a Wednesday. I get them to do all these pranks.
“When I put them in infrared face masks, they loved it. It’s great when people buy into these games and we can brighten up the Breakfast show in loads of different, entertaining ways. Alan is the perfect person for that, so I’m always throwing games at him.
“He’s so much fun, he’s a joy to be on air with.”
A last-minute call-up on radio is one thing, but live TV?
Well, that’s a whole different beast.
‘Take it bit by bit’
Shanahan had completed her pre-match work for ITV ahead of the Lionesses’ match against Ghana on December 2 and was just about to tuck into her dinner when presenter Laura Woods collapsed live on air.
Having not seen the scary scenes that had unfolded, Shanahan was caught by surprise when a producer called and informed her she needed to come pitch side.
After checking in on Woods, Shanahan got her ear piece in and had a matter of seconds to compose herself before the red light came on.
“Those shows take a whole week to prepare, there’s so much preparation that goes into it,” Shanahan said.
“In those moments, you’re thinking, ‘Take it bit by bit.’ It kind of turns into radio because I talk to myself for a whole hour from 5am until 6am most mornings.
“You have to keep it really calm, let everyone know Laura was alright, say the statement we’re meant to say. I had 30 seconds to get in, deliver the line, go straight into the England team news.
“The Ghana team news was quite challenging, luckily I had Anita [Asante] there and Wrighty (Ian Wright).
“We just had to make sure we informed the viewers that [Woods] was OK. I was checking in with Laura and texting if she was alright. That was quite a scary situation, mainly because I didn’t know what happened.”
Given the minimal prep time involved, Shanahan knows just how badly both experiences could have gone.
It would have taken just one unfortunate moment to get ‘clipped up and become a meme somewhere.’
Why Shanahan’s past had her primed for late call-ups
But when you factor in Shanahan’s past as an athlete coupled with her affinity for jumping into the deep end, she was more than ready for the occasion.
Before she was on the talkSPORT airwaves and cameras, Shanahan was well on her way to stardom as a hockey player.
The sport took her across the globe, including stops in Australia and at the University of North Carolina in America.
Shanahan, who played as a striker, was also an England international across a five-year span, which she described as ‘an incredible experience.’
Although her hockey career was cut short due to a horrific injury, Shanahan’s experience as a professional athlete has provided her with a unique mindset few others can call on.
“When I used to take a penalty, you suddenly go into a zone you don’t even know is there until you’re in the moment,” Shanahan said.
“You can transfer the skills over so that when the red light goes on, when you have no prep, you have no idea what’s going on, something switches and you deliver it.
“Sport has helped me in those really high pressure moments to stay calm. I just try and stay as calm as possible, because then everyone else is calm. It makes the whole experience a lot easier.”
Despite no longer playing hockey, Shanahan is still throwing herself into wild athletic challenges.
Katie’s ‘Shanahanigans’
The Loughborough University graduate is in the midst of preparing for an Ironman 70.3, which is half the distance of a regular Ironman but still an absurdly gruelling experience.
Shanahan will need to complete a 1.9km swim, a 90km bike ride and then find the strength to run a half-marathon in order to finish her race, which will be in Valencia on April 19.
Having run the London Marathon last year, Shanahan is feeling comfortable with the running element.
But the swimming? Far less so.
“The swim is in an ocean, and I live in London,” Shanahan said.
“So I don’t know how on earth I’m going to train for that. I hope I don’t get eaten by a shark.”
At least the conditions will be slightly more bearable than when, during her time at Loughborough, Shanahan braved freezing temperatures to help raise £4,000 for Make-A-Wish UK.
She did that by embarking on an epic 200km dog sled through the Arctic Circle in the space of a week.
“In the night, you would sleep on reindeer skin,” Shanahan said.
“Then we saw the Northern Lights. It was one of the best moments and weeks of my life. It was freezing, but you felt properly at one with nature.
“The little dogs were great. When you got on the wooden bit at the back, they were ready to go.”
As is Shanahan once the red light comes on, no matter if she’s had months, weeks, days or seconds to prepare.
Or, as she proved in recent months, without any time to prepare at all.
talkSPORT will be at Cheltenham every day during the Festival, with Hawksbee and Jacobs bringing you live coverage of every race. talkSPORT.com has a live blog with all the updates and you can catch the action on the app.
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