Powell, who has been a familiar face on Sky Sports for 29 years, will officially step away from the screen on his 66th birthday.
Over the decades, Powell has covered some of the most iconic moments in sports history, including England’s Ashes victory in 2005, Super Saturday at the London 2012 Olympics, and Andy Murray’s historic Wimbledon win in 2013.
“And there you have my job in a nutshell: holiday irrelevant; knowledge, authority and quick reactions essential. I have built all that up over 43 years of live broadcasting, good and bad.”
He listed both the highlights and the more difficult moments of his career:
“The good – being there for England men’s first Ashes win in 20 years at The Oval in 2005, Super Saturday at the 2012 London Olympics, and Andy Murray’s 2013 Wimbledon triumph.
“The bad – the Bradford fire, the Hillsborough disaster and the premature loss of sportspeople like Gary Speed. And the surreal – interviewing Archbishop Desmond Tutu and covering a Bruce Springsteen concert on the same afternoon for Yorkshire Television, or explaining The Hundred to viewers of Sky Germany. In German.”
He added: “People often ask about difficult interviewees. Very few. Even those I was warned about in advance, from Sir Alex Ferguson to Princess Anne and playwright Alan Bennett, could be charming if you played it right.
“Naturally, Fergie wasn’t always. But he once gave me a touchline interview I didn’t actually want. Believe it or not I wanted Clayton Blackmore (who had just scored the only goal at Sheffield United).
We would get the great man himself later. But in the tumult he misheard me and put up a finger to say “in one minute”, after which he duly presented himself in front of my camera. We did not send him away.
