Jim White opens up about sobriety - ‘For anybody out there struggling today, I'm with you’

Virgin Radio

5 Sep 2024, 13:05

The latest episode of Spooning With Mark Wogan features talkSPORT’s own Jim White.

During a chat with host Mark, he speaks about his route to becoming a TV presenter, and opens up about his sobriety journey.

Jim - whose new book, Deadline Day, is out now - tells Mark about his career, saying: “I'm a journalist who happens to present… I got into sport eventually, but before that, I was out in the field, court reporting. All sorts would kick off in Glasgow of a weekend, and I'd be in the Sheriff or High Court on Monday morning, not not needing to be defended, but covering stories!”

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He adds: “I must admit, I loved it. And I loved meeting people. I loved getting in amongst people. And the variety of it was great. But I drove the variety. I would do a bit of that, then I wanted to do a bit of this. In my time at Scottish TV, it’s covered in the book, I fancied myself a bit as the entertainment reporter.”

On moving into football coverage, the Scot reveals: “Scotland had qualified for the World Cup in 1986, the finals in Mexico. And of course, England were there too. The famous Hand of God, Maradona. And I managed to get a gig going out there, covering it as a news event. There'd been an earthquake in that part of the world.

“So I was out there for the duration of Scotland's stay, which wasn't long. And of course, Scotland had a habit of always being last to get there and first out!”

The footy expert speaks at length to the son of the late broadcasting legend Terry Wogan about his sobriety, having not drunk alcohol for over 12 years. “Quite simply, I would enjoy a drink too much,” he admits. 

“And as you know, everything I used to do when I worked in television, certainly at Sky, was live. Everything I do in the radio today is live, and recovering became a bit of an onerous task, and it boils down to I was spending too much time in a bar, talking with people and really giving them too much of my own time, and thinking I was more important I actually was, and thinking this conversation I was having with these people was more important than it actually was, and not really getting a grip of where I was at that particular time in my life.”

He continues: “So I decided, ‘I'm drinking too much.’ I was warned by a couple of people, not warned, but in a nice way. It was hinted to me, ‘Maybe you want to cut down. Maybe better than that, you want to quit.’ 

“But I carried on, and it was a stupid thing to do. And then it became apparent, yeah, I wasn't recovering from a hangover as well as I should have been. I was occasionally looking a bit rough on telly. 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.”

Referring to podcast host Mark, who himself has been sober for over 30 years, Jim says: “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?’”

Mark tells him: “I still go [to AA meetings], because it works for me that way. And what the bit that I enjoy is being able to give back to other people. I mean, you've got a great platform with your media profile to talk about the fact that ‘You don't have to that. Stopping is an option,’ and I think a lot of people need to hear that."

Jim replies: “And I use that platform, Mark. Incidentally, the fact that you still go to AA meetings, I think, is wonderful. And you said it, ‘Hey, it works for me.’ So if it works for you, then let it work for you. And great. And I salute you for that Mark, and I love the fact that you do that. 

“Let me just say, for anybody out there struggling today, I'm with you, and we're with you, and remember, you'll get through it. You can get through it. And I like being able to do that." 

He adds: “TalkSPORT gives me the platform to do that, and it's amazing the number of people, high-profile, who get in touch identifying with the same need, the same want, the same desire to do what you and I have done. You for many more years than me.”

Watch the full chat - in which Mark tries to change Jim's mind on steak tartare - here: 

Read what Mark Wogan told Chris Evans about why he blindfolds guests on his Spooning podcast here. 

Previous Spooning guests include Claudia Winkleman, Tim Lovejoy, Helen Skelton, Gaby Roslin, Beverley Knight, Andi Oliver, Jason Fox, the Appleton sisters, Tom Rosenthal, The Hairy Bikers, Tim Lovejoy James Martin, Midge Ure, Joe Wicks, Eddie Izzard and Virgin Radio’s own Ryan Tubridy and Angela Scanlon.

Spooning is out wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are released every Thursday. Watch along via @virginradiouk on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok.

See Spooning With Mark Wogan at Pub In The Park in St Albans from 6th-8th September 2024. For more information visit www.pubintheparkuk.com.