A LEGENDARY Sky Sports presenter was once told they were the best at getting interviews – and then asking them f*** all!
This star was instantly recognisable to football fans across the UK as he became the face of transfer deadline day on the big screen.
But these days he is one of the main voices on TalkSport as he hosts the much-loved White & Jordan each weekday between 10am and 1pm after leaving Sky in 2021.
The man we are talking about is, of course, Scotsman Jim White.
Before the 66-year-old and his bright yellow tie became synonymous with transfer deadline day, he learned his craft on the local papers back in his homeland.
But after graduating to television, his first big scoops were with rock and roll stars Mick Jagger and David Bowie.
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Speaking to the Daily Mail, White said: “I am a reporter who happens to present a show.
“I’ve been in a studio with a shirt and tie on quite a lot. Scotsport, Sky. But the best times I have had were when I have been out there running riot, going after people.
“They either speak to you or they don’t. That’s the biggest adrenaline rush in the business, especially when you walk away from someone and you’ve got it.
“It’s a different discipline from presenting but it gets me more, yeah. And over the years I have really had to work on it.”
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White is renowned for having one of the best contact books in the business and his no-nonsense questioning has made him a must-listen.
However, it has not all been plain-sailing.
White revealed: “Someone at Sky said to me once, ‘You are one of the best I have ever met at getting into position and getting big names… and then asking them f*** all’.
“That made me realise it’s one thing getting into positions but if you then don’t execute the questions then it’s a waste of time.
“I was very much like, ‘Mick Jagger, it must be great being in Glasgow’. ‘Yeah it is’. You know? Hopeless. I was just ill-prepared.
“Put it this way. I know what I would ask David Bowie now. These days my approach is that I am not going to let someone go until I have nailed them.”
White and former Sky Sports colleague Kaveh Solhekol have joined forces to write a book about how they secured the scoops on football’s breaking transfer stories.
Deadline Day: The Inside Story of Football’s Transfer Market by the pair is out now and available for £25 via Constable.
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