Football presenter brought to tears on her last day by an elderly longtime fan's touching tribute

Goodbyes can be difficult and even more so, when you have a huge fan following and people are going to genuinely miss you. Laura Woods, the sports presenter from TalkSports, was left in tears when one of her fans called in to talk to her and read a touching poem during her last show. The 82-year-old fan, Ivor, wanted to give a tribute to Woods. He called and said, "I don't want to waste much of your time Laura on your final day. Just a few words of appreciation and then one verse of rhyme. If that is ok?"

When Woods and her fellow presenter agreed to his request, Ivor said, "We all know you have the face for TV Laura, but you certainly have the voice for radio. So just a few words of thanks for your efforts on talkSPORT these past few years."

He continued, "Now, your bubbly personality shines through every early morning that you broadcast. You're never afraid to offer an opinion but always respectful and professional of other opinions."

"And you have a knack for interacting with your co-presenters in a humorous way without detracting from the topic being discussed. So in thanking you for getting each day off to a cheerful and informative start, I sincerely wish you all the best wherever your career takes you in the future," he said. "Now the verse: Mr. Brazil is good, Ray Parlour not bad. Super Ally is great, Gabby's Jack the Lad. But one presenter shines above the rest - that's Laura Woods, who is simply the best."

Woods' co-presenter Ally McCoist was also emotional after listening to those words and said, "Oh ye go, Ivor, on ye go. I'm just about weeping, I'm bubbling myself in this studio. That was fantastic mate. Brilliant Ivor, good on you, that was lovely mate, much appreciated."

Woods who was crying covering her face with a sheet, responded, "Ivor, thank you so much - I have to admit, you've broken me early. It's only 6.23(am) and I'm crying already!"

Woods has won many awards for her work as the station's Sports Breakfast Show presenter and was also the Sports Journalists Association (SJA) Sports Presenter of the Year in 2021 and 2022, reports Evening Standard. 

The presenter joined talkSPORT in 2017 and used to review the papers for 30 minutes a week when Alan Brazil was the regular host of the breakfast show. She reportedly started hosting in 2020 when Brazil stopped full-time presenting. She was a hit among listeners and also helped to bring in record audiences. 

During her last speech, Woods said that this was "the best job you'll ever experience." "You lot, our listeners, have given me so much comfort and guided me through some of my toughest moments, without even realizing it. So I wanted to thank you personally for that. I will miss it dearly. Even the Spurs fans," she said.

She added, "Three years as the host of this amazing breakfast show, three bits of silverware for the trophy cabinet, and record listening figures. I’m very proud of what we achieved here. One thing’s for sure: I will always be part of this family at talkSPORT.”