Shebahn Aherne: Her talkSPORT Career, Family and Football Story
Heard Shebahn Aherne on talkSPORT and want to know more about the voice behind the football discussion? The Scottish broadcaster has built a career across radio, reporting and presenting, with women’s football an important part of her work. Her story connects Glasgow radio, international tournaments and a family relationship that sometimes puts her on the opposite side of an interview microphone from her own twin sister.
This profile covers her route into broadcasting, her connection to footballer Ruesha Littlejohn and the work that has brought her to national audiences.
Who Is Shebahn Aherne?
Shebahn Aherne is a broadcaster, journalist and presenter associated with talkSPORT. Her experience also includes television and event hosting: the Leeds International Festival of Ideas lists work for both talkSPORT and Sky Sports, alongside panel discussions and national campaigns. Leeds International Festival of Ideas
Her public career covers several different settings. There is the live radio conversation, where she contributes to discussion; the reporting assignment, where she follows a team or competition; and the hosted event, where she guides other speakers through a subject.
Women’s sport, equality and representation feature in her professional profile. Those interests sit alongside a broader broadcasting career rather than limiting her to one programme or competition.
From Glasgow Radio to a Career in London
Aherne’s roots are in Drumchapel, Glasgow. In a guest column published in 2014, she described growing up with the Littlejohn family and knowing working life through Radio Clyde before deciding to move south.
The column offers a useful first-person account of a significant career change. She wrote about leaving familiar surroundings, settling in Wapping and beginning a job at ITV’s Southbank building. It captures a stage before her later national sports broadcasting profile, when a move brought both professional and personal change.
Her subsequent career discussions have continued to reference Clyde 1. A May 2026 appearance on Not Another Football Podcast, hosted by Jackie McNamara and Simon Donnelly, explored her progress through radio and her move into women’s football coverage. Apple Podcasts
Why her radio beginnings matter
Local radio and national sports broadcasting are different environments, but both depend on clear communication. A presenter needs to make a contribution understandable quickly, listen carefully and keep a conversation moving.
That provides useful context for Aherne’s career. Her route into football media included an established radio background, rather than beginning only when she appeared alongside familiar sporting names.
Shebahn Aherne’s talkSPORT Career
An official talkSPORT line-up announcement in August 2023 named Aherne as the new Early Breakfast presenter, with contributions to the main Breakfast programme. A further announcement that December described her as a Breakfast regular.
Those dated announcements establish an important stage in her career. They should not be treated as a permanent guide to today’s rota, because radio schedules and presenter combinations change.
In her 2023 Sports Gazette interview, Aherne explained that women’s football helped open the door at talkSPORT. She described preparing audio packages on Sunday evenings and sending them in for use on Monday mornings. It is a specific example of how she demonstrated what she could contribute before taking on a more visible role.
She also discussed being encouraged to express an opinion, rather than simply introducing experts and moving the programme along.
Reporting on Women’s Football
Aherne’s women’s football work includes assignments beyond the radio studio. Before the 2023 Women’s World Cup, talkSPORT announced that she would be based with the Republic of Ireland camp in Australia.
That assignment placed her close to a major international story. Covering a team involves following its progress, gathering interviews and explaining developments to listeners who may be watching every match or joining the conversation for the first time.
Her work has also included DAZN. In the Sports Gazette interview, she discussed covering the Women’s Champions League for the broadcaster, including its draw show. These examples show how her experience spans both regular discussion and competition coverage.
A personal connection at the World Cup
The 2023 tournament carried particular significance because her twin sister, Ruesha Littlejohn, played for the Republic of Ireland. Aherne told Sports Gazette about watching her sister from the media gantry and interviewing her after matches.
It was an unusual overlap between family life and professional responsibility. For readers discovering the sisters, the distinction is straightforward: Aherne works in broadcasting, while Littlejohn’s career is on the pitch.
Her Twin Sister, Ruesha Littlejohn
The sisters’ connection also extends to football conversations outside match reporting. The published description of What The Football? includes episodes in which Aherne and Littlejohn discussed Women’s Super League results and developments together.
Their roles offer different starting points for a conversation. A broadcaster can frame the wider story and ask questions on behalf of listeners, while a professional player can describe the experience of competing. The value lies in the exchange between those perspectives.
The family relationship is therefore relevant to Aherne’s professional story, but it does not explain her whole career. Her own record includes presenting, reporting and hosting work across several organisations.
What Is Publicly Known About Her Family Life?
Published interviews identify Aherne’s husband as Jamie and describe her as a mother of twins. A Scottish Sun profile discussed how family arrangements fitted around her reporting commitments, including tournament travel.
That is enough background to understand another practical aspect of her career: working in live sport can involve early starts and time away from home. More detailed claims about her household, finances or relationships are unnecessary to explain her professional achievements.
Her Work Beyond Match Coverage
Aherne’s recent work also includes discussions about the sports media industry itself. In March 2026, talkSPORT announced an International Women’s Day panel hosted by her, featuring Angelina Kelly, Emily Ward and Adrian Durham.
The discussion covered routes into broadcasting, working life, criticism, imposter syndrome and support for women in the industry. It placed Aherne in a role guiding a conversation about how sports media operates, rather than debating a particular result.
She was also announced as host of the inaugural Festival of Women’s Football Awards. The organisers described an event recognising players, grassroots contributors and people working behind the scenes. This adds event hosting to the picture of a career that crosses several formats.
How to Find Her Broadcasts and Interviews
For readers who want to explore her work, a short listening route is more useful than relying on isolated social clips:
- Check talkSPORT’s current schedule. Use the broadcaster’s latest listings to find live appearances rather than an old programme announcement.
- Listen to a full discussion. A complete segment gives you the question, the competing arguments and the context behind a short clip.
- Try a longer career interview. Her Not Another Football Podcast appearance discusses her background and route into broadcasting.
- Compare different formats. A studio discussion, a tournament interview and a panel show reveal different parts of a presenter’s work.
If you are interested in entering sports media yourself, her account of sending in prepared football packages is a practical example to consider. Producing a focused piece of work can demonstrate your skills more clearly than a general statement that you would like an opportunity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Shebahn Aherne known for?
She is known for sports broadcasting, particularly her talkSPORT work and women’s football coverage. Her experience also includes television appearances, tournament reporting and event hosting.
Is Shebahn Aherne related to Ruesha Littlejohn?
Yes. They are twin sisters. Littlejohn is a professional footballer, and their shared connection to football has featured in interviews and podcasts.
Where is Shebahn Aherne from?
She is from Drumchapel in Glasgow. Her early career included Radio Clyde before she moved to London and developed her wider broadcasting career.
Is Shebahn Aherne married?
Published interviews identify her husband as Jamie and say that they have twins. Further private family details are not needed to understand her public career.
Has Shebahn Aherne worked for DAZN?
Yes. Her documented work includes DAZN’s Women’s Champions League coverage. The Festival of Women’s Football Awards also identified her as a talkSPORT and DAZN presenter in its host announcement. FOWFA
Conclusion
Shebahn Aherne has developed a career that connects radio, football reporting, television and live hosting. Her Glasgow beginnings and connection to Ruesha Littlejohn add context, while her broadcasting assignments show the range of her own work.
To get a fuller sense of her approach, start with a complete talkSPORT segment and follow it with a longer career interview. Hearing the questions, responses and discussion together offers much more than a brief clip.
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