By Angie Quinn
The Women’s Euro 2025 has officially kicked off for a tense football tournament as the Lionesses hope to retain their European Champions status. Wales have also entered the competition as debutants after securing qualification for the first time.
The tournament started on Wednesday, July 2, at the Arena Thun stadium and comprises of 34 matches before one team is crowned the champions.
England and Wales will be joined by 14 other countries in a bid to lift the trophy on July 27. The final will be held at St Jakob-Park stadium in Basel, Switzerland, only meters away from where the Eurovision final venue was held.
ITV has announced Laura Woods as part of its punditry team after making the channel her home for sport, thanks to her wealth of knowledge when it comes to huge sporting events.
The 36-year-old, from Dagenham in London, is also famed for fronting talkSPORT’s breakfast show where she formed a brilliant double act with co-presenter Ally McCoist.
Laura led the 6am-10am breakfast slot on talkSPORT for three years and picked up several awards along the way, including the coveted ARIAS Best Speech Breakfast Show as well as the SJA Sports Presenter of the Year on two occasions.
In July 2023, Laura announced she was leaving talkSPORT to become TNT Sports’ lead presenter for the Champions League and boxing coverage. She also covered the Olympics and some Premier League coverage.
Laura started her television career back in 2009 when she worked as a runner at Sky Sports before adding experience with a variety of roles across the sport.
She’s now established herself as one of the most popular presenters in English football, having worked her way through the ranks at Sky Sports before getting the odd presenting gig and becoming a pitch-side reporter for their Premier League coverage.
Laura left Sky Sports as the demand for her talents grew. DAZN employed her for their coverage of the Women’s Champions League and Matchroom’s boxing events, while she also led ITV’s coverage of the Women’s World Cup.
The Arsenal fan could’ve easily turned down TNT Sports’ offer, but she wanted to work for them because of their interest in fan culture, reports The Mirror.
She said: “I think the thing that sold me the most was they want to be near the fans, they want to be by the fans. And I think for me as a presenter, what I’ve really enjoyed is that rough and ready presenting. Going to the ground, being amongst the fans – it’s different, isn’t it? You can’t replicate it in a studio.”
Laura’s family life
In January 2025, Laura and former Love Island star Adam Collard welcomed their first child together. The couple also revealed their newborn son’s name as Leo Ernie Collard.
The couple announced publicly that they were an item back in October 2023 and got engaged one year later.
Last summer, Laura confirmed that she knew she was pregnant while covering Euro 2024 for ITV, although she decided to keep the news under wraps from co-stars and fans.
Speaking in The Times, she said: “It was constant, the morning sickness was quite difficult to battle and I was exhausted all the time.
“It didn’t matter how much sleep you actually got, you’d still be knackered. At least there were rest days when I was able to just chill out in my [hotel] room.
“I would have liked to keep it quiet for a little bit longer but I really felt like I couldn’t any more and now I’ve done it it’s a relief.”
Laura Woods’ rugby ex
Before Laura found love with Adam, she was in a relationship with former England pro Alex Corbisiero, who featured in two Lions Tests during the 2013 winning tour of Australia.
They were together for eight years before splitting up. She explained that it was her decision, and was down to the pair “living in each other’s pockets”, reports Wales Online.
The former Premiership champion was diagnosed with testicular cancer back in 2019, and after a long battle with the disease. In 2022, he revealed he was two years cancer-free in a statement made on social media.
He is now a scrum coach at San Diego Legion, and also works in rugby media Stateside.