Georgie Thompson used to be one of Sky's main faces for its F1 coverage
Speculation is brewing over Sky Sports presenter Georgie Thompson’s future as the face of their Formula One coverage after her absence from the opening shows of the year.
The 35-year-old has worked for the company for 12 years, leaving Sky Sports News at the end of 2011 after the company won the right to broadcast Formula One.
But Thompson, a normally prolific tweeter, has not been seen on Twitter this month, and has not presented the F1 show since its 2013 return.
Her friend and fellow presenter Nathalie Pinkham has stood in for her, hosting the show with Ted Kravitz.
Adding further fuel to the speculation, she appears to have been airbrushed out of the team shot on the Sky Sports website. The 2012 version and 2013 version are conspicuous for Thompson's disappearance.
In early 2012, the 'Meet the Team' page of the Sky F1 website looked like this:
Fast forward 12 months, however, and things look very different:
For the time being no confirmation has been given – and a Sky Sports spokesman was quoted by the Daily Star as saying simply: “There is nothing we can say at the moment.”
Rumours are circulating on the internet that Thompson has been head-hunted by BT Sport, who are aiming to be a serious rival broadcaster of sports when they launch in the summer of 2013.
Though there is no link between Thompson and BT Sport, the channel - set to be blessed with a "practically limitless" budget - has already attracted several high-profile sports broadcasters, including Jake Humphrey and Clare Balding.