CHANNEL 9 sports presenter Yvonne Sampson feared she was being called into the boss’s office for doing something wrong.

Instead it was to inform her she would be hosting Wednesday night’s State of Origin blockbuster, Australia’s highest-rating TV show and an event that attracts a national audience of 4.5 million.

Stepping into the seat once reserved for TV legends Mike Gibson and Ken Sutcliffe, 35-year-old Sampson becomes the first female broadcaster to anchor a major sporting event in this country.

media_camera This year’s Origin series will be the first time a female anchors the broadcast. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“It’s enormous, Origin is better than Christmas,” Sampson said.

“I couldn’t believe it when Tom (Malone, director of sport) told me. I got called into the office and you never know if you’re in trouble or not. I walked in and thought, ‘what have I done?’

“Then he told me that he’d like me to host Origin. It was enormously unexpected and I kept asking, ‘are you sure, are you sure?’ It’s such a privilege.”

Sampson has previously hosted Nine’s NRL coverage on Thursday or Friday nights or Sunday afternoons but never an event of this magnitude.

She admits it will be a nerve-racking experience but can’t wait for the kick-off.

“I’m nervous every time I do something whether it be hosting a lunch or television,” she said.

She will spend the entire day preparing.

“On the day of a game I always read all the papers and jump online later in the day to make sure there’s nothing else floating around,” she said.

“I write out absolutely everything in my notebook. My only fear is that I could get something wrong.”

A female hosting such a major event on Channel 9 would have been unheard of a decade ago.

“That culture is such a thing of the past,” Sampson said.

“I have never once not felt welcome at Channel 9. I just feel like I’m part of the team.”