Fearne Cotton, who has stepped away from her long TV career, revealed the cut-throat nature of the industry and said she’s “got too much to lose” to return to her old job
Fearne Cotton revealed the heartbreaking reason she quit TV and radio while speaking out about the brutal nature of the industry.
The CBBC and Top of the Pops legend revealed yesterday (December 3) that she would be having surgery on benign jaw tumours, sparking a flood of support from her fans.
But, aside from her podcast Happy Place, Fearne is far less in the public eye than she used to be and candidly explained why in an interview with The Sunday Times back in June.
She explained she “couldn’t do live radio or TV today for any money in the world”, because she has “too much to lose'” now she has a family.
She told The Times: “I’ve been sacked a million times, I’ve been sacked and not told I’ve been sacked. You just turn the telly on and someone else is doing your job. It’s all a big game. You’ve got the Monopoly board out and you’re moving around [trying to] dodge the danger.”
She claimed that it’s in “our culture” to try to “level people out”, indicating that a fresh face on the scene is celebrated, yet once they’re in the industry, people “cannot wait for you to f*** up”.
Fearne went on to say that she thinks she’s had positive feedback from what she’s “doing now” as she’s actively chosen to step away, adding: “But I can’t put myself back on TV now — I’ve got too much to lose. I’ve a family to support.”
She also stepped down from the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, having stepped up to cover for Zoe Ball but ultimately leaving the temporary position.
Speaking to Davina McCall in Begin Again with Davina, she explained that she “definitely wouldn’t sleep” if she was covering for Zoe and she would be “up catastrophising all night”.
Fearne went on to say that she was on her “knees” after two weeks and had to tell the Radio 2 boss that she could no longer continue. She also revealed how things had changed for her professionally.
She said: “No radio anymore, don’t really want to to do telly work, no one’s ringing me I’m not getting offered anything at all I’m just sat there feeling insecure.”
The former Love Island presenter also told Davina that she was still in therapy each week and “still triggered by the same things”. However, she also said there is a “lovely incremental” climbing out of the ditch she was previously in.
Fearne said: “I’ve still got a long way to go, there is no way I would want to host a live TV show , host a live radio show, there is no way that I could sleep in a house with a bunch of people that I don’t know really well, sleep is a massive issue still.”
