“PEOPLE THINK I AM FEISTY”
Breakfast TV superstar Susanna Reid on early fame, juggling a busy family life and the benefits of having a thick skin!
Few TV presenters have fascinated viewers more than Susanna Reid who has graced our screens covering serious political issues, enjoyed amazing success in Strictly and even appeared in dramas like Poirot. Is she driven or talented? Actually, both!
“I’ve heard all sor ts of things said about me!” she reveals.
“Mostly it’s by people who don’t know me. I have heard it said that I’m feisty and want my own way. Well, I don’t quite see it like that. I like to be professional in all that I do and sometimes you have to work harder to achieve that.
“It is all to do with maintaining standards.
“My parents divorced when I was about nine and in a situation like that you learn from an early age that you just have to cope.
“I did get to spend time with my father which was ver y good for me.”
Susanna seemed destined to be famous from a ver y early age.
“I never really thought about being famous and I don’t see myself as being famous but I did go to drama school when I was quite young and even got a par t in a Channel 4 drama called The Price. I was 13 at the time and I was kidnapped. I was fascinated by the ar t of acting rather than the idea of fame. I realised that most actors don’t get much work and when I went to uni at Bristol and became the first female editor of the student
Morning Britain. “It’s all about accepting the challenge, I think,” adds Susanna. “I have always liked a challenge, that is why I trained for the London Marathon and similar races and why I so enjoyed taking par t in Strictly. I just love having something to aim for, and that has been the case right through my career. Perhaps that’s why some people think I’m feisty.”
All this time, Susanna has also been a great mum to her three children.
“They are growing up now but I have always thought it impor tant to be there for them,” she says. “My job on breakfast television actually helped with that as I had to get to bed fairly early because of such an early rise most mornings. But it meant that I was free to pick them up from school, spend time with them doing their homework and have fun.
“You only get one chance with your children and they have always been No.1 in impor tance. Being on television doesn’t change that. At home I am ordinar y me and do the same things as ever yone else, watch the same TV as ever yone else. I am quite self-disciplined and
“I enjoy a challenge and I always try to do the best that I can”
set myself those high standards, and that’s why when I’m at work I tr y to do the best I can.
“You have to have a thick skin too. When people see you on TV they almost seem to claim some kind of judgement rights, and some of the mentions on social media can be quite nasty and an upset if you take them seriously. I tr y not to, and just focus on the nice letters and comments.
“Perhaps that’s why folk think I’m feisty... I tr y not to let anything change my focus or prevent me from doing what I hope is a good job. I enjoy what I do and always want to be the best I can.”