How every woman CAN fight her way to the top

The toll of her job on her family. Being groped in public. And, in a remarkably candid interview, MISHAL HUSAIN’S inspiring belief. . .

BBC news presenter Mishal Husain was buying cake decorations in the supermarket for her son’s first birthday when she received a call. Her boss wanted her to go to Pakistan to cover a terrible earthquake.

‘One voice in my head told me I should go, that my son was too little to know what a birthday was,’ recalls Mishal, now 45. ‘It was countered by another: “what will I say when he asks why his mother isn’t in his first birthday pictures?” ’

she didn’t get on that plane. Though today — 12 years later — she tells me: ‘I look back now and think I probably should have gone. Because he was fine. Later, it becomes much harder to say to your older children: “I won’t be there for your birthday,” because they understand what it means.

‘Babies don’t know the day of the week. But that was how I felt at the time. It was probably the first time I felt work and life were pulling me in opposite directions.’

It’s a touching insight into the life of this high-profile mother of three.

Voted one of the 500 most influential people in Britain, Mishal can seem slightly head-girl-turned-ice- queen at times, especially when she holds politicians and prime ministers to account.

when we meet at her publisher’s office, she looks immaculate, dressed in a Chanel-esque jacket and black trousers, yet seemingly without make-up.

Her list of accomplishments — she is the first Muslim presenter of Today, Radio 4’s flagship news programme; she was one of the main faces of the BBC’s Olympics coverage in 2012; and, last november, was handpicked by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to conduct their first joint TV interview (with only 24 hours’ notice) — can make her success feel exceptional, beyond the reach of most women.

so when she admits that, beneath her calm, measured tones, which reassure listeners even when a shocking news story is breaking, that she lives on her nerves, it’s both surprising and reassuring.

she almost didn’t apply for the Today job when she was approached, even though she’d been working in broadcast news for 17 years.

she went home and told her lawyer husband, Meekal, that ‘it was a nice idea, but I couldn’t imagine going for it’. Her husband looked incredulous.

WHATwould she say, he asked, if one of their three boys (Rafael, now 13, and twins, Musa and Zaki, 12) responded to a prospective new challenge by saying: ‘Great opportunity, but will it be too hard?’ It pushed her to go for the job. Then, for three years, she fretted over almost every shift.

‘It took me three years to feel more at ease. I only say “more at ease” because I’m never going to want to relax in the job. It’s a very privileged position, it carries immense responsibility and comes with loads of scrutiny, so it’s never one that you want to feel too comfortable in.’

now she realises how important it was that she didn’t give up. ‘If I had stopped doing it, for whatever reason, within that time, my abiding memory would have been: “It never quite felt like it was for me.” ’

since then, she has won many awards, including Broadcaster of the Year in 2015, but, as she reveals in a new book — part memoir, part handbook for working women — she still has nerves before doing a big interview.

sometimes, she has anxiety dreams that she’s overslept and has to present the show from her bed — ‘ which is just a bizarre, bizarre thought’.

Her candour is refreshing when so many of us feel like imposters in our own lives, about to be exposed at any moment. she says that’s why she wrote her book.

‘ I’d go into schools and constantly be asked: “Do you get nervous?” or even told: “You must never get nervous.” If young people are thinking that, it’s problematic — if you think only a certain kind of person is going to do that job, that automatically eliminates most people. so I wanted to be honest about how nerves remain a part of my working life.’

In her book, she gathers together expert advice and practical skills, for women of all ages — on everything from ‘how to use your voice, to body language and negotiating at work’. she’s had to look at body language herself, as ‘I’m small, I don’t have a commanding physical presence’.

In a 20-year career, she has met many remarkable women, including Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai (who survived being shot by the Taliban), so she could call on their experiences.

But, arguably, the most interesting insights in the book are from her own life. As she writes: ‘I’ve been flashed at and groped in public places and know how vulnerable it can make a girl or an adult woman feel.’

early on in her career, she was told, dismissively: ‘stick to what you’re good at.’ she was also slightly puzzled when another