Fearne Cotton has admitted that “all her mental health problems” are down to work and that “no money in the world” would make her return to live radio or television.
The star, 42, has spoken in a very candid new interview about her struggles and panic attacks early in her career when she was a children’s TV presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC.
She said it’s impossible to be in the public eye when you’re young and “get over it in one piece,” as she admitted big red carpet events never seemed “safe” to her.
speaking to The times She said: “If you want to have a lot of mental health problems, come out into the public eye very young, because you will have them all.”
‘There’s no way you’re going to get through it in one piece… All my mental health problems are because of my job. Nothing else. It does not favor mental balance.
Fearne Cotton has admitted that ‘all her mental health problems’ have been due to work and that ‘no money in the world’ would make her return to live radio or television
The star, 42, has spoken in a very candid new interview about her struggles and panic attacks early in her career when she was a children’s TV presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC (seen in 2000).
Fearne went on to explain that live radio and television are no longer for her due to the “level of risk and judgement,” and said her “nervous system can’t handle” being thrown into a “lion’s den.”
He added: “Because cancel culture exists, you can do one thing and that’s it, you’re dead.” Bye bye! Everyone is waiting for you to get angry so they can point the finger at you and say you’ve always been terrible.
The blonde beauty also reflected on her mental health struggles in her early years, saying she didn’t sleep the night before live radio and would end up feeling sick, which turned into “anxiety and panic attacks.”
This continued until she started to wonder why she was doing it to herself and decided to walk away.
Fearne left Radio 1 in 2015.
She became the first regular presenter of the BBC Radio 1 Chart Show in 2007, which she co-hosted with Reggie Yates.
And two years later he went on to present his own BBC Radio 1 show.
Last month, Fearne reflected on her decision to leave BBC Radio 1 in 2015, admitting that in the nine years since then a lot has changed “for the better”.
The presenter joined Radio 1 in 2005, but left the station in 2015 and her last program took place exactly nine years ago, later citing her mental health (pictured in the programme).
She said it’s impossible to be in the public eye when you’re young and “get over it in one piece,” as she admitted that big red carpet events never seemed “safe” to her (seen in 2015).
Fearne went on to explain that live radio and television are no longer for her due to the “level of risk and judgement,” and said her “nervous system can’t handle” being thrown into a “lion’s den.”
The broadcaster has been a solid part of the television and radio world since she began her presenting career in 1996, at the age of 15.
She joined Radio 1 in 2005 and two years later became the BBC’s first permanent radio show presenter.
In 2009, Fearne replaced Jo Whiley as presenter of Radio 1’s weekday mid-morning show, but left the station in 2015 and her last show took place exactly nine years ago, later citing her mental health.
To mark the anniversary, he took to his Instagram to share a video about how far he’d come since then, admitting at the time that he was “not in a great place mentally” and had “very bad moods” and “self-loathing.” .
Fearne said: “Apparently it’s been nine years since I left Radio 1, which I can’t believe.” On the one hand, it seems like another lifetime ago and, on the other, it seems like it was yesterday.
‘But I don’t often stop and take stock of how much or what has changed, I’m just running through life like we all do.
But today I was like, “Oh my gosh, so much has changed in nine years,” and luckily for the better because I wasn’t in a great place mentally at the time.
“And that’s not to say I’m in perfect mental health now, but I really wasn’t in a good frame of mind and I had a lot of self-doubt and self-hatred and all sorts of things going on and very low mood and anxiety.” which I still deal with here and there today.’
He explained that he had made “progress” by gaining confidence enough to trust his instincts and set limits for himself.
She explained: “But there has been progress and I’m not talking about professional achievements, I’m talking about me mentally and knowing that I can say no to things and knowing that I can set boundaries and knowing that it’s okay to follow my own goals.” instinct and a lot of things I didn’t feel like I had access to back then.
“So even though I don’t often stop and analyze what happened over the course of a decade, today I definitely feel like a lot has happened.
“And I’m very grateful because I’ve been able to sort out this new chapter of my career that I hadn’t anticipated at all.”
Fearne then expressed her joy at having achieved so many wonderful things, including her Happy Place podcast and the accompanying Happy Place Festival, as well as her upcoming debut novel, Scripted.
She gushed, “I’m so grateful for Happy Place, I’m so grateful that I get to do the podcast, I’m so grateful that we’re having the Happy Place Festival again.”
“I am very grateful to have had the opportunity and to have plunged headlong into writing my first novel, something that has left me stunned.”
Urging his followers to have hope that they can make positive changes, he concluded: “I think I wanted to get this message out there because change is possible.” You know, whether it’s a life shift or a mental mindset. Change is possible, new things can happen. It doesn’t seem like it at the time, but it’s possible.
“I didn’t think I was going to write a novel. I didn’t think I was going to do a festival and a podcast and all these other lovely Happy Place projects, I had no idea.
‘So change is possible, you are not stuck. And you have to hold on to whatever shred of hope is there, trust, keep learning, and keep growing. That’s all we can do. But you’re not stuck! Change is definitely possible.”
Captioning the inspirational post, Fearne wrote that while she was still “recovering from tough times,” she was getting better.
She wrote: ‘9 years ago I left Radio1. I don’t usually look back or take stock, but today I feel the need to stop and recognize how much has changed.
‘I’m still recovering from tough times and I still have work to do to regulate my nervous system, but I’m getting a little better at taking care of myself and having compassion for myself.
‘I am willing to try new things and am constantly looking for new challenges to keep me on my toes. These adjustments have opened me up so much that I am grateful.
‘If you feel stuck, I promise you you’re not. There is always another way if you want a change and are willing to try something new or change your way of thinking.
‘Nothing is easy, but it is possible. On this gray and sexy Wednesday, I am sending you love and great encouragement on your path to make changes that work for you. ‘
In August 2021, Fearne admitted that she left her job at BBC Radio 1 because it was “ruining her mind”.
She had previously revealed that performing had taken a toll on her mental health as she did not “feel connected” to many parts of the entertainment industry, adding: “I always felt like someone was about to criticize me.”
Appearing on Lorraine in October 2022, she said she had decided to pause her television career to protect her mental health due to “cancel culture today”, and said it caused her “massive anxiety”, which was “not worth it for a show radio”. ‘.
The author said: “I couldn’t be in that situation every day, where I was getting negative comments every day, not with the cancel culture that exists.”
Fearne added: “When I turned 40 I thought I needed to wash something out of my life, I can’t feel that way anymore.”
‘Sometimes you’re stuck in life situations that you can’t change, but sometimes there are things you can do to relieve stress.
“I was petrified, it took away my fun so I stopped doing things that gave me anxiety, it wasn’t worth it for a radio show.
“It was a huge, massive cause of anxiety. It may sound overly dramatic, but I couldn’t bear to be in that situation…
“That feedback every day, or no matter how often I was doing a show, I found it quite traumatic to constantly have that feedback from people and not be able to make mistakes at all because there’s no room for me to be wrong or make mistakes.
In August 2021, Fearne admitted that she left her job at BBC Radio 1 because it was “ruining her mind” (pictured on the radio).
Appearing on Lorraine in October 2022 (pictured), she said she had decided to pause her television career to protect her mental health due to “today’s cancel culture”, saying it caused her “enormous anxiety”, which ” “It wasn’t worth it.” a radio program’
“I was petrified. She took the joy and fun out of how she used to feel.
‘I’ve definitely gotten away from the things that were causing me anxiety about panic attacks, not just things like “I don’t feel good” i.e. not sleeping the night before, full on panic attacks. For a radio show, it’s not worth it.”
Since then, Fearne has focused on her popular podcast, in which she interviews different celebrities, including Jada Pinkett Smith, Stephen Fry and Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has also disdained her own festival.
She has been married to Jesse Wood, son of Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie Wood, since 2014 and they are parents to Rex, 11, and Honey, eight, as well as Jesse’s two children, Arthur, 22, and Lola, 19, from a previous relationship.