Bianca Westwood rules out football return three years after leaving Sky Sports

Bianca Westwood has confirmed she will never return to football broadcasting, drawing a definitive line under a 22-year career at Sky Sports that made her a familiar face on Soccer Saturday.

The 51-year-old took voluntary redundancy from Sky in 2023, the same year that longtime Soccer Saturday host Jeff Stelling also departed. Speaking on TikTok, Westwood addressed the steady stream of messages she still receives from fans hoping to see her back on screen.

“I’m not going back to Sky and I’m probably never going to work in football again,” she said. “The compliments are really nice, I do appreciate them, but I’m not going back.”

Westwood revealed that she had sensed the shift coming roughly a year before she left. “The opportunities were becoming few and far between — they didn’t really rate me,” she explained. “That’s why I started doing the fashion, beauty and skincare, things that I love as a woman.”

She also reflected on the contrast between her reception early in her career and the praise she now receives in hindsight. “I get so many compliments now about what a good reporter I was, how I was the best football presenter — and yet when I was doing it, especially when I first started, everyone said I was s***. So, work that out.”

On her decision to accept the redundancy package, the West Ham supporter said the timing felt right. “Jeff was leaving at the same time. I thought it was probably the best time to go, and that was basically the reason behind my decision.”

Since stepping away from broadcasting, Westwood has built a social media following of nearly 140,000 on Instagram alone, where she describes herself as “your midlife bestie” and shares affordable fashion tips alongside advice on navigating the menopause. She says her content is now aimed squarely at women and that she has no intention of returning to sport.