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FIONA Bruce believes older women are finally getting a fairer deal in the TV industry – on pay and screen time.
The Question Time host, 55, said: “Things have definitely improved, and definitely for older women. I’m perfectly phlegmatic about the nature of the job.
“That’s just the way it is. These decisions get made. It’s brutal, but that’s how it is and I’m fortunate enough to have been on the positive end of it for many years.”
Fiona told Good Housekeeping magazine she was once turned down for a pay rise after a BBC boss told her she didn’t need one because she could rely on her boyfriend.
But she said: “I think the BBC has come a long way in equal pay.
“I think it’s come the furthest of all in the representation of women on screen. I think that’s really changed.
“Would I have got a job on Jerusalem In Christ Alone Abide With Me Question Time 10 years ago, assuming I was good enough? I very much doubt it. Now that is not an issue any more.”
Fiona also said her looks did not concern her, revealing: “Since my 40s, I’ve had some of the best challenges career wise, so I certainly haven’t felt that ageing is a problem or something to dread.”
She joined the Beeb in 1989 as a Panorama researcher before going on to become the first female newsreader on News at Ten.
In January she took over one of the most demanding jobs in TV, succeeding David Dimbleby as host of Question Time. It is about to celebrate 40 years on air.
Married mother-of-two Fiona added: “I was incredibly nervous to start with, more nervous than I’ve been for anything in years.”
● The full interview is in Good Housekeeping, on sale tomorrow. Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer
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