Louise Minchin names three BBC Breakfast colleagues she remains close to post-departure
Louise Minchin has revealed the trio of former colleagues she's stayed in touch with since her departure from BBC Breakfast.
The seasoned broadcaster, who graced the show for more than a decade after joining in 2012 alongside the late Bill Turnbull, also shared presenting duties with Dan Walker and the current anchor Charlie Stayt.
After leaving the programme in 2021 due to the strain of early mornings, Louise confessed that the relentless schedule led her to become "obsessed" with sleep. Despite adjusting her alarm to an impressive 3.46am to get to the studio on time, she still ended up tucking herself into bed by 7pm.
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Three years on from her exit, Louise now enjoys the luxury of not setting an alarm at all if she can help it. Although she doesn't pine for the crack-of-dawn starts, she revealed to Best magazine the names of three colleagues she keeps in regular contact with.
Louise told the publication: "The team - Carol (Kirkwood), Sally (Nugent) and Dan (Walker) - but I'll be lifelong friends with them. And I do keep my hand in - I fill in for Lorraine sometimes which is great fun," reports the Express.
ITV regularly rotates stand-in presenters for their star Lorraine Kelly, with Christine Lampard and Ranvir Singh among those stepping in when needed.
Post-Breakfast life saw Louise taking "two years" to settle into a normal sleep routine again. She said: "Thank goodness I don't have those early starts anymore.
"The toll of those early mornings didn't hit me until I'd left - they were brutal, and I was constantly exhausted. Sleep became an obsession."
Following her departure from Breakfast, Louise joined the I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! camp at Gwrych Castle in Wales - when the show relocated due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. The filming was marred by storms that ripped off the roof of the production gallery.
This experience inspired the TV star to fulfil a long-standing ambition and write her own book. Her debut thriller, Isolation Island, set behind the scenes of a reality TV show, is set to be released later this week.