'It was at Marcella’s point-to-point yard that I developed myself riding out. “I’ve been involved in racing since I was 11 in terms of riding racehorses, whether it was point-to-pointers or Earth Summit, who was kept with Marcella Bayliss just down the road from Nigel Twiston-Davies in his retirement. Many of the critics would not have realised Hughes, who grew up in the Cotswolds, had a long-time link with the sport. “They just thought I was a kid from Love Island going in blindly to present horseracing.” “Twitter is a very opinionated platform and the amount of abuse I used to get over the first three, four or five times I was broadcasting was ridiculous, whether that was from punters or whoever,” Hughes says. Reaction to the newcomer was not so favourable on Twitter, however. Hughes showed enough natural flair, combined with racing knowledge and passion, to prompt ITV bosses to deploy his services on a more frequent basis. Order your copy hereĬhapman proved to be spot on in his assessment. This year's title, available for only £12.99, is bigger and better than ever and is the perfect gift for every racing fan. Relive the best stories from an outstanding year of racing with the must-have Racing Post Annual 2020. I remember Chappers saying to me afterwards: ‘That was brilliant, I wouldn’t be surprised if we used you again.’” Me and Chappers just bounced off each other from the get-go and I really enjoyed the day.

“I was on The Opening Show again at Cheltenham on the Thursday of festival week and joined the Social Stable in the afternoon for the first time, and it kind of worked really well. I appeared on The Opening Show on the morning of the race and from there I just kept in touch via one person or another. Reflecting on where the journey began, Hughes, 26, says: “My first interaction with ITV was when I rode in the Macmillan charity race at York in June 2018 for Coral. They have been good for each other: Hughes has been able to prove himself outside the usual celebrity circuit and ITV has taken the opportunity to tap into a different, younger demographic. For Hughes, though, the ITV job was an ideal opportunity to develop his broadcasting career and follow his long-held passion for racing. Love Island alumni can head in various directions upon returning to reality but swapping the plush Spanish villa for British racecourses in all weathers is surely one of the most unusual. By dint of his personality and professionalism, the former Love Island contestant has turned around criticism of his early appearances on ITV Racing and can look back on a successful year as a regular on the sport’s most high-profile presenting team. Few people manage to change opinions on Twitter, the modern soapbox for anyone with a gripe, a grudge or worse, but Chris Hughes reckons he has managed to pull off the seemingly impossible.

Love island uk commentator