Louise Minchin has claimed BBC bosses told her to “find another job” when she asked if she could reduce her working hours after giving birth.
The former BBC Breakfast presenter gave birth to her first daughter Mia in 2002 while working on Radio 5 Live and asked if she could reduce her hours to spend more time with her new baby.
But Minchin, now 54 – who felt “anxious and overwhelmed” finishing every shift at midnight – was told she wouldn’t be able to reduce her work hours unless she quit her job.
‘This is not acceptable’
She told the Dirty Mother Pukka podcast, “I was working on 5 Live, I was doing an evening shift, I was working on something called Sports on 5, I think I was doing it five days a week.
“I had to be in by 2 or 4 pm and I worked until midnight.
“My husband didn’t have a job at the time because he was setting up a business, I was the only one who was going to bring money.
“I went back, maybe I was still breastfeeding… I was just getting through it, feeling very anxious and overwhelmed.
“I asked, ‘Could you cut down my hours? Or maybe I could do less one day a week?’
“They said, ‘No, you have to do that or you have to find another job.'”
Minchin said she chose to leave the program after the incident and refused to accept such treatment.
“I left …. It felt brilliant. I thought this was not acceptable, and I am not going to accept it.”
Presenter quit to spend more time with family
The TV presenter announced that she would be stepping down from her role on BBC Breakfast in September 2021 after nearly 20 years to spend more time with her family.
“In December I had taken three or four weeks off due to ankle surgery and I had that period of time to realize that if I don’t get up at 3:40 in the morning, I’ll be doing all sorts of things in the night. night I want to do – like just watch television with my family, do family stuff like that,” she previously told The Mirror.
She was replaced by Sally Nugent, who now co-hosts the show with Jon Kay, Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty.
Minchin now hosts a podcast called Push Your Peak.
The TV presenter married David Minchin in 1998 and the couple have daughters.
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
