ITV Racing star Francesca Cumani has addressed rumours she was paid £140,000-a-day for a lucrative presenting gig.
Cumani, daughter of iconic trainer Luca, has been a mainstay on terrestrial TV here over the years.
Cumani will be back in Australia to host coverage of the Melbourne Cup, despite missing all of the Flat season in Britain
But it is in Australia where she has achieved even greater levels of fame after a chance encounter led to her going on TV.
Cumani, 39, will be heading back Down Under for the Melbourne Cup on November 1 as part of the blockbuster Channel 10 team.
When she was poached by Channel 10 from Channel 7, one news story claimed Cumani became ‘Australia’s highest paid TV presenter’.
She was rumoured to be on the equivalent of £140,000-a-day as part of a £2.8million deal in all.
But Cumani recently revealed to the Racing Post that figure was very wide of the mark.
She said: “When I joined Channel 10 there was a big story in one of the papers about how much I was getting paid.
“It was completely untrue.
“You have to learn to take everything with a pinch of salt.
“I’ve got a pretty thick skin and have learned not to worry about what people think.”
Cumani did not reveal the actual details of her pay from Channel 10, where she is the main anchor during coverage.
That is in contrast somewhat to her familiar role on ITV, where she has shared main hosting duties with Ed Chamberlin.
Regular viewers will have noticed that Cumani – who confessed to having a wild crush on Frankie Dettori as a youngster – has been missing from screens this season.
Well the reason is she became a mum for a second time to baby boy Teddy in May, with triathlete partner Max Johnson.
Cumani has been missing for the entirity of the Flat season, with Adele Mulrennan and Leonna Mayor among those sharing duties.
And she won’t be back until it starts properly next year either, choosing to skip Cheltenham Festival and Aintree’s Grand National.
Cumani, who is also mum to six-year-old Harry, said: “If I had given birth to Teddy during the jumps season, I would have taken shorter maternity leave and come back for the Flat season.
“I feel like I have more purpose on the Flat.”
