A Perth-born Sky Sports presenter has revealed how going viral in Turkey helped her through a “tough week”.
Jo Wilson’s popularity skyrocketed online this week after fans of Istanbul club Galatasaray picked up on her pronunciation of their team.
After breaking the news on Sky Sports that Wilfred Zaha was signing for the Turkish giants, fans flooded to her Instagram asking the St Johnstone fan to say “Galatasaray” in her Perth accent again.
Wilfried Zaha. From Galatasaray.#WelcomeZaha pic.twitter.com/65lAsSFcFn
— Galatasaray EN (@Galatasaray) July 24, 2023
One comment said: “I can listen to the Galatasaray discourse until the morning.
I think I’ll make a ringtone”
Another fan added: “Galatasaray has never been so beautifully pronounced.”
As a result, the club themselves contacted Jo to ask if she would be part of their video announcing the signing of former Crystal Palace star Zaha.
Jo Wilson describes ‘random’ Galatasaray video
Speaking on Sky Sports News, Jo described the announcement video as “quite possibly the most random thing I’ve ever had to do”.
She said: “Apparently I say Galatasaray in a strange way or a good way.
“The next thing I know their media office got in touch asking me to do the video.”
A clip of her explaining the back story on Twitter has also gone viral.
"Quite possibly the most random thing I've ever had to do…" 🤣
"I'm hoping for a little trip to Istanbul!" 🇹🇷
Our very own Jo Wilson had a hand in Galatasaray's Wilfried Zaha announcement 😉 pic.twitter.com/ekL89IPJaT
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) July 24, 2023
Posting about it on her Instagram afterwards, Jo said: “In all seriousness this week is a bit of a tough one for me.
“But this Galatasaray story (which I still don’t fully understand) has brought a smile to my face and been a random lovely distraction.
“The internet is a mad old place.”
Last year Jo revealed that she had been diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer, forcing her to step back from presenting duties.
Jo returned to Sky Sports in December and announced she was cancer-free in March.
