Meet Hazel Irvine, the face of the Glasgow Games

Get Hazel Irvine started about sport and there’s not much that won’t immediately trip off the tongue.

She can immediately tell you she’s covered 12 Olympic Games, Winter and Summer, plus five Commonwealth Games.

Ask which, though, and she has to have a think for a moment.

“Right, I’ve done Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, Lillehammer”

It’s around the world in 17 Games and a heck of a lot more than 80 days.

But having jetted to every corner of the globe for a quarter of a century, home is finally where the heart is for St Andrews-born Hazel. She’s going to be the BBC’s face of the Commonwealth Games, presenting daily coverage from Glasgow 2014.

And having just missed out on coverage of Scotland’s last Games in 1986, the pride of being at the heart of the biggest thing to hit her home nation in decades shines through.

“When Glasgow got the Games I knew I wanted to be a big part of it,” she says quietly. “Having a home Games is a major milestone for Scotland.

“We’re living in really exciting times for sport in this country. Just thinking about Scots wearing the saltire and turning out in the blue of Scotland makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I’ll be commentating on the opening ceremony, and I’m very proud.”

The 48-year-old is mum to daughter Gina, who is following Hazel’s sporting example.

“Gina’s four-and-a-half and I’m encouraging her and all her wee mates to do sport,” says Hazel, who likes to keep her private life, and even her husband’s name, firmly under wraps. “I always preach that.

“I’m sure every parent who watched or who had kids taking part in the Olympics felt how positive it was to see the great messages about sport get across.”