Ex-BBC Breakfast host Louise Minchin reveals why she quit alternative career

Ex-BBC Breakfast star Louise Minchin has opened up about the real reason she stepped back from her budding sports career as a teenager. The 56-year-old was once a promising swimmer and avid sportswoman before becoming a household name.

At just 15, she chose to quit despite being tipped for success. While on James Martin's Saturday Morning, Louise revealed why she decided to give up her swimming career.

She told how she was self-conscious about her body, with a rigorous training regime sculpting her physique. She said her shoulders became 'quite muscular', leaving her feeling as if swimming was not the right path for her.

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She told Martin that she now appreciated her toned shoulders and had resumed sport, Mirror reports. Now an enthusiastic fan, she participates in triathlons to stay fit.

Chef Martin asked: "I mentioned earlier in the chat, you love sport, you are sporty? " To which Louise responded: "I was really late to it because I gave up sport."

She continued: "This is a really important message, I like talking about it. When I was 15, I gave it up..." James cut in: "You gave it up, you wanted to be an athlete?"

The former BBC host reflected on her past choices and said: "No, I gave it up to be brutal because I looked in the mirror, I was a good swimmer, and I saw my really muscley shoulders and I thought "I don't like how that makes me look"."

Later she expressed a change of heart and said: "Now I'm really happy to have muscley shoulders." Louise revealed how she eventually embraced swimming again in her forties.

She said: "If you told me this ten years ago, I wouldn't have believed you, so I now do more endurance sport like long-distance swims, I did one at the weekend which was 3km which I love."

James was visibly impressed and said: "That's amazing." Louise continued: "You can tell, I get a real buzz out of it."

Louise stepped down from BBC Breakfast in September 2021 after two decades, marking an end to co-hosting with Dan Walker. James said: "So I want to talk to you about leaving something like that because that's a big decision for you?"

Louise opened up: "I talked about how much I loved being on the show and loved being part of this huge BBC Breakfast family but at the end of the day, you have to get up extremely early, you know it's relentless. I was permanently jet-lagged and eventually I thought "I've loved this, it's been fantastic but I need to get some sleep".

Louise is currently promoting her new book Isolation Island. James Martin's Saturday Morning airs each Saturday on ITV, from 9:30am.