Now... a lie-in! Exit for BBC Breakfast’s Louise
FOR 20 years the nation has woken up to Louise Minchin sitting on the red BBC Breakfast sofa, breaking the most important news of the day to us.
But yesterday she was the headline story as she bid an emotional farewell to the programme, having made her first appearance in 2001.
The journalist, 53, was treated to a farewell speech by her co-presenter of five years Dan Walker, a montage of her best bits and a send-off from the crew wearing Louise Minchin masks.
The mother of two said she had made the decision to leave Breakfast when she realised she ‘can’t face another winter’ of early starts.
Ahead of her final show, she posted a picture of her smartphone alarm set to 3.45am, adding, with relief, ‘goodness knows’ when she would have to do that again. Mrs Minchin, who has two daughters, Mia, 20, and Scarlett, 17, with husband David, said she was looking forward to doing ‘family stuff’, such as watching ‘Sunday night dramas’.
The highlights reel included a message from Bill Turnbull, who left the show in 2016 after 15 years.
During her tenure, Mrs Minchin cover ed three general elections, Brexit and terror attacks, while her interviewees included the Duchess of Cambridge and Sir David Attenborough. Last year the BBC said she was earning between £185,000 and £189,999. In 2019, she led the Wake Up To Menopause campaign after revealing that she had suffered hot flushes on air.
Mrs Minchin is also a keen triathlete and was presented yesterday with a wetsuit for outdoor swimming by Olympic triathlete siblings Jonny and Alistair Brownlee.
Signing off, she told viewers: ‘It’s been a privilege to sit here on the red sofa and report on our shared history. You’ve made me feel welcome in your homes, welcome in your hearts.’