Gabby Logan has spoken about the devastating impact of her brother's death on her family. Daniel Yorath was just 15 when he collapsed while playing football with their dad - Welsh footballer Terry Yorath - in the family's garden. It was later revealed he had an undetected heart condition.
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"He died of a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which is sudden death effectively," Gabby, 47, told The Game Changers podcast. "We had no warning. He had a congenital heart defect which meant that from the outside and ostensibly his fitness was just beyond you know. He was in the top 0.00 per cent."
Daniel Yorath pictured playing football with his father, Terry Yorath
She continued: "[Daniel's] heart was enlarged and basically was about to give way and pack up on him but there were no signs at all.
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"He was never breathless. When he did die, he died in the garden playing football with my dad. He was just kicking the ball about and keeled over.
"It was absolutely cataclysmic. It was like a sledgehammer coming down and shattering the family into a million pieces."
Gabby with her parents, Daniel and younger sister Louise
Now, 28 years on, she said her family are still trying to come to terms with the ramifications of their loss. "Even if someone dies suddenly at 78 it feels young, but they are 78 when a child dies so young obviously there is such a fallout among the whole family," she shared.
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"It defined the rest of our youth and has defined how the family has gone on from those years and it leaves its mark in many ways. It was a really hard time for everybody and to this day the ramifications are still there."
The star is married to former rugby star Kenny Logan
Gabby is now herself a mother of 15-year-old twins; she shares son Reuben and daughter Lois with her husband of 19 years, former rugby player Kenny Logan. She previously told The Guardian it was impossible to imagine her life with them.
"Reuben and Lois are twins but I always just saw them as siblings born on the same day. I love their company – they're such good fun and it's such a huge responsibility. You are helping to shape and model other human beings and their opinions on things."
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