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She may be BBC Scotland’s undisputed queen of the New Year, but presenter Amy Irons turns a little green when comparing herself to her TV idol Claudia Winkleman.
Ms Irons, who will front the corporation’s Hogmanay celebrations once more this year, admits she is in awe of stylish Traitors host Winkleman’s easy rapport with her audience.
She told The Scottish Sun: ‘I love Claudia Winkleman. Like all the presenters I look up to, whether it is Claudia, Davina McCall or Ant and Dec, they can connect directly with the camera.
‘It’s like they’re just standing in your living room talking to you.’
The popular presenter, who is the daughter of ex-pro footballer Davie Irons, said her New Year resolution is to be more like her idol, adding: ‘I remember a BBC staff member saying to me after last year’s Hogmanay show that “you are the same on-screen as off-screen”.
‘For me that’s probably the biggest compliment I could get. That’s what I am aiming for all the time.’
Amy Irons is to present this year’s Hogmanay celebrations on BBC One Scotland
It is the second year Amy Irons has presented BBC One Scotland’s Hogmanay
Presenter Amy Irons said she looked up to Claudia Winkleman, pictured
The 34-year-old star, who has added stints on Reporting Scotland: News at Seven to her various roles on radio and sports presenting, plans to finish her year on a high by bringing in the Bells on the BBC’s Hogmanay 2025 show – wearing a Wicked little green number.
The self-confessed ‘perfectionist’, who is dating fireman Fraser Curran, 35, said she has spent weeks fretting over the perfect outfit for the job, hoping to avoid the epic fail suffered by predecessor Jackie Bird’s ‘low-slung disaster’ outfit in 2001.
She said: ‘I think I had probably about 15 different delivery drivers coming to my home by the end of November.
‘What I’ve learned is that I can only trust my best pals and my mum when it comes to picking a dress but you can never trust dads, boyfriends or brothers.
‘Basically any male in my life is not getting asked as they’re all useless and just say, “Yeah, it’s nice”.
‘I need a little bit more direction than that. So the females in my life have been very helpful.
‘So I’ve settled on a green velvet number with some Wicked vibes it’s my little festive nod to Wicked mania.
‘But it’s important because you want to feel comfortable and also it’s a show with so many eyes on it and, especially being a female in the industry, you’re constantly scrutinised.’
She described the show, which begins at 11.30pm on BBC One Scotland on Wednesday (Dec 31), as a ‘proper Hogmanay house party’ with performances from Nathan Evans, Michelle McManus and Gaelic rockers Mànran, along with ‘house band’ Roddy Hart and The Lonesome Fire, adding: ‘It will just be like any Scottish front room with endless supplies of top Scottish tunes.
‘Then at the end all the guest singers, like Robert Robertson and Georgia Cécile, will come together for a big surprise finale it’s going to be absolutely incredible.’
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