Emotional farewell on TV sofa as McGovern heads for Yorkshire
STEPH MCGOVERN became emotional as she watched a reel of her highlights from her time on BBC Breakfast.
The TV presenter, who gave birth to a daughter in November, is leaving to host her own programme, The Steph Show, on Channel 4.
The 37-year-old brushed away tears while watching the video as she said her final farewell to her former BBC colleagues.
She told presenters Dan Walker and Louise Minchin: “I totally didn’t expect to cry. But there we are.”
McGovern said her eight years on the show had been “brilliant” and she had loved “the family” on the show, including everyone behind the scenes.
She was also shown video messages from former colleagues Robert Peston and Bill Turnbull.
Peston said he was her “greatest
superfan” and described her as a “superb broadcaster and brilliant producer”.
BBC presenters Carol Kirkwood and Sally Nugent also joined her on the red sofa and presented her with baby gifts.
She has not revealed the name of her daughter, her first child with her girlfriend, whose identity is not known.
Talking about being a firsttime mother, McGovern said: “She’s fab and I’m really lucky, but I have a newfound respect for parents. I look at them now and think, ‘Wow, you look so together, when will I be like that?’”
Another of her TV projects, a programme called Easy Ways To Live Well, which airs on Wednesday night on the BBC, sees her and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall looking at “quirkier” things that can be done to improve diet, fitness and mental health.
The Steph Show will be broadcast daily from Channel 4’s new national headquarters in Leeds starting in the spring.
It has been billed as a mix of light current affairs, entertainment and lifestyle and will see McGovern interview figures from showbiz, politics and other areas.