Jim White enjoyed a successful 23-year career with Sky Sports, but admitted his issues with alcohol left him feeling that he was letting the viewers down at one point
Former Sky Sports News veteran Jim White revealed he felt he was letting the viewers down with his TV appearances amid his struggle with alcohol.
White, 68, joined Sky in 1998 and became one of the channel’s most recognisable faces. Especially known for his hosting role on Deadline Day, the Scotsman’s time with the media corporation came to an end in 2021 after 23 years of service.
In 2016, White began working for talkSPORT alongside his Sky duties. He then went on to take over Colin Murray’s role of hosting the radio station’s morning programme.
However, it was during his tenure with Sky that White struggled with an alcohol problem. After previously revealing he’s been sober since October 2011, he discussed the impact it had on his career during an appearance on the Spooning with Mark Wogan podcast.
“It was quite simply, I’d enjoy a drink too much,” he revealed. “As you know, everything I used to do when I worked in television, certainly at Sky, was live. Everything I do on the radio today is live.
“Recovering became a bit of an onerous task. I was spending too much time in a bar talking with people and giving them too much of my own time, and thinking I was more important than I actually was, and not really getting a grip on where I was at that particular time in my life.
“So I decided I’m drinking too much, it was hinted to me, ‘Maybe you want to cut down, maybe better than that, you want to quit.'” White has long enjoyed a friendship with Liverpool legend Graeme Souness, who had confronted his compatriot over his drinking habits.
White continued: “[Graeme] Souness said to me years ago when he was managing Benfica, ‘One thing I’ve been hearing about you is that you’re maybe drinking too much Jim.’ That was about six or seven years before I stopped, and I was like, ‘Really, Graeme, thanks for that’, and went right over my head and carried on.”
Admitting he didn’t heed Souness’ words, White came to realise how drinking was affecting his work and explained how he felt he was disappointing Sky Sports’ viewers. “But I carried on, and it was a stupid thing to do, and it became apparent,” he added.
“I wasn’t recovering from a hangover as well as I should have been, I was occasionally looking a bit rough on TV. I wasn’t performing as well as I should and I was letting the viewers down. I was letting people close to me down, family members down but letting myself down.”
Wogan himself revealed that he’s 30 years sober, as White responded: “I mean, look at us today. We can talk to each other, we feel happy, we feel healthy. We’re in a good state of mind.
“It’s about giving the best of yourself, and I wasn’t doing that, and people close to me were saying, ‘It’s obvious you’re not. So maybe have a think about this. How about stopping?'”
Rubi Klemp
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