The one lesson I’ve learned from life

TV’s Andrea McLean

TV PRESENTER Andrea McLean, 47, lives in Surrey with her partner Nick Feeney and children Finlay, 14, and Amy, nine. She is best known for co-hosting TV chat show Loose Women.

Harness humiliation: it makes you strong

I’d never been fired before, and as the words left my boss’s mouth, I felt shame prickle my cheeks. I was 22, working in a cafe in Australia and, apparently, my orange- squeezing skills weren’t up to scratch. I cycled home, red-faced with embarrassment, and worried. I needed a new job, fast.

The next day I walked around town, asking in every cafe and bar if they needed staff. By mid-afternoon, hot and discouraged, I trudged up the stairs of yet another pub and asked if they needed help. That night, I started my first shift in one of the best jobs I have ever had.

After serving drinks all evening behind the bar, we would all head off to the clubs, dancing until the sun came up. A few hours of sleep later, I was on my bike, cycling back to the pub to prep for the next day. Life was great.

Years later, I was living in London, sharing a flat with a friend as we worked for the newly formed UK Weather Channel. We had been out the night before, toasting our jobs and life.

As I woke up, I heard the postman deliver the morning’s post: a letter plopped on to the doormat, addressed to me. I’d been made redundant. The company was merging and I hadn’t been chosen to stay. I was devastated.

A few days later, I heard through the grapevine that a job had come up for a weather presenter on ITV’s morning show GMTV. I applied, got the job and stayed for 11 happy years, learning the craft of live Tv and presenting everything from the weather to the news and standing in for the hosts on the hallowed sofa.

now in my mid-40s, I have finally reconciled myself to the fact that losing those jobs was a blessing. If everything had gone according to plan, I wouldn’t have the life experience that gives me the empathy I have today. I wouldn’t know what heartbreak and humiliation feels like. I see now that these are just as important in life as perfection and joy.

What feels like the end of the world at the time often shows itself to be a blessing in disguise. everything you do is giving you valuable experience; whether it’s a job or a relationship that doesn’t work out as you’d hoped, they all move you towards finding those things that bring you joy.

You never know how close you are to this, which is worth trying to keep hold of when life is not being its kindest.