Brigitte Duclos knew nothing about sport when McGuire, Quartermain hired her

Eddie McGuire hired Brigitte Duclos because she had friends he fancied. But the pair soon became firm friends and took the city’s 90s nightclub scene by storm.

Brigitte Duclos has revealed she landed her first job as a sports reporter on television because Eddie McGuire wanted to meet her girlfriends.

“The way it started was I had done a phys-ed degree and I was going overseas, and Jen Hansen said to me they’re looking for a girl in sport at Channel 10, so I thought I’ll go for the interview, it could be a good bit of practice,’’ Duclos told the Sacked: Showbiz podcast.

“I get there and Eddie McGuire and Stephen Quartermain are the interviewers. They asked me all these questions, like who’s the Collingwood captain, who’s Collingwood’s best kick and none of which I knew any of the answers to.

Jane Kennedy, Eddie McGuire, Carla McGuire and Brigitte Duclos at a nightclub together in the 1990s.

“Then Eddie worked out that I was the same age as him and I’d have some young good looking friends and it would suit him to work with me because it meant he’d be able to meet all my girlfriends, and I got the job.

“And that is absolute fact and he would tell you the same thing. I didn’t deserve it, I honestly had no idea, I didn’t even really like footy that much at the time so I got the job because I had girlfriends.”

Duclos was 21 at the time and navigated her way through sport despite a lack of knowledge.

She said McGuire never dated one of her girlfriends in the end.

Duclos praised McGuire as having something “pretty special”, attributing much of her success to his ongoing support.

“But gee he liked coming to the parties and things,’’ she recalled.

“We did feed off each other a lot in those early days. We had a hell of a time going to nightclubs and things.

“I worked with Eddie, Quarters and Bruce (McAvaney).

“Eddie was just a pimply little Broady boy at the time. Bruce was a legend when he came, I feel really lucky I got to work with those guys.”

Duclos said she had to learn quickly on the job.

“On a Saturday, Sunday my job was to sit and watch the footy with Quarters. So I learned a lot doing that and Bruce was amazing.

Broadcaster Brigitte Duclos. Picture: Tony Gough

“They were hard on me. I remember very early I had to stay up all night and watch Wimbledon and write highlights. I think I fell asleep one night and came back into work and I said, ‘sorry I missed the highlights’.

“Bruce was fantastic and one day I really did stuff up and Bruce got cross at me. They were tough but what great training. I think back now and I had no idea what I was doing.

“I did phys-ed and all I wanted to do was have a whistle in my mouth, a short white skirt and brown legs so that was my career path. I loved tennis but I didn’t really follow the footy that much at the time. Funnily enough now I’m obsessed with footy and I love it.”

Duclos said she finally made the transition to general news, where she was “even thicker than I was in sport”.

She also gained a newsreader job on radio Triple M on the recommendation of McGuire.

“I’m really different to Eddie, in fact I’m frustrating I would imagine to him, but he always had a lot of confidence in me more than I ever did,’’ she said.

“He was the one at Channel 10 who said to Triple M, try Brigitte Duclos. He does it one, because he’s a friend and two, because he wouldn’t if he thought you were shithouse. So I know it’s not complete charity.”