Fearne Cotton has said that she worries about doing live TV now because she worries people will judge her or if she is saying the right thing.
That TV and radio star, 40, began her career as a teenager on the GMTV children’s program The Disney Club, after winning a contest.
She put on her own Radio 1 show for six years and also hosted the early incarnations of Top of the Pops, The Xtra Factor and Love Island.
Cotton was also the team captain on the comedy show Celebrity Juice from 2008 to 2018, but left to pursue other projects.
The presenter told BBC Breakfast she missed “bits” of the television world, but acknowledged that the “pressure” was now too much.
She said: “I think as you get older… I started TV when I was 15, so I’ve given a long slog to it.
“And my outlook on life changed, my thoughts changed, my set of values changed.”
Cotton revealed that she didn’t step into the BBC Breakfast studio this morning in peace, noting: “Given that I did so much live TV as a kid that is kind of annihilated and I’m shocked to hear this. There’s a lot of worry in doing something like that.
“Knowing it’s live, people are going to judge, that cancellation culture exists and people are pointing fingers.”
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She explained that she “really doesn’t care” what people think about how she looks or what she wears, but judges her based on what she says.
“I guess it’s more: Are you saying the right thing? Have you upset anyone?” He added.
“I think it has increased over the years and it is not a pressure that I can handle. I know I can’t mentally do that.”
Cotton has established a wellness brand, Happy Place, in recent years, which includes podcasts and festivals.
She said that by creating her own “little world” she is now “excited” about her work every day, rather than feeling “intimidated” like she was at points during her career.
As part of her podcast, she talks to people about life, love and loss and explores what happiness means to them.
Cotton explained that she chose the term Happy Place because it’s a “loaded statement.”
She explained: “We are all trying to aim for this happiness and we think it lives in the future.
“It’s when we get a job, partner, whatever. And really, there’s a lot of value in all other emotions, even the really awful, ugly feelings, like jealousy or guilt.
“Those feelings are telling us something, information for us to change our lives or our thinking.
“That’s why we have to stop going: ‘Happiness is on this pedestal and we’re aiming for it in the future’ and what can we learn from what we’re experiencing and feeling.”
The Happy Place Festival, which includes workshops, yoga, arts and crafts among other activities, is also returning to London in September and in August after being postponed due to Covid.
