Cover story
When Good Morning Britainhost Susanna Reid learned that a girls’ school in Croydon, Surrey – her home town – had named a school house after her, she offered some motivational quotes to feature on the wall.
As well as ‘Take your opportunities’ – amantra of her mum’s, which inspired Susanna to embrace the unknown – her personal favourite is ‘Do the work’, which is particularly fitting after Susanna fronted almost a fortnight of rolling daily news coverage following Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September.
On the morning of Her Majesty’s state funeral, after co-hosting an extended live programme from outside Westminster Abbey with Ben Shephard, the pair watched a stream of pipers and drummers precede the royal coffin. ‘It was so moving and evocative. When they came into view, I thought, “Oh my goodness, I’m watching history,”’ recalls Susanna, who also describes feeling ‘a huge weight of responsibility’ to get the momentous coverage just right. She adds, ‘I hope we did the Queen proud.’
Without a doubt she did – and that’s thanks to experience. Susanna’s broadcasting career dawned 21 years ago when she presented her first BBC Breakfast programme alongside Bill Turnbull, who sadly lost a five-year battle to prostate cancer in August. She had only recently welcomed her first son, Sam, 20. She went on to have two more boys – Finn, 18, and 17-year-old Jack – with journalist-turnedentrepreneur Dominic Cotton, before the couple split in 2014, shortly after she competed in Strictly Come Dancing.
Although happy to speak about most topics when we meet near her south London home, Susanna is guarded about her love life, which most recently featured dates with Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish. ‘I can’t confirm or deny anything. I don’t talk about that part of my life because there have to be boundaries,’ she replies to the question about her current relationship status.
Last year, Susanna decided to reject any additional TV jobs to be around more during her sons’ final years of education. However, there are no plans to ditch the 3.45am starts just yet.
‘I love Good Morning Britain so much,’ says Susanna, who is currently backing the programme’s 1 Million Minutes campaign to eradicate loneliness. ‘Doing what I do is an enormous privilege. It’s a pillar of my life. I wouldn’t want to do anything else!’
I’ve been doing breakfast TV for as long as I’ve been a mum. That’s two decades of getting up at 3.45am! As women in broadcasting, I hope that we never take for granted the kind of progress that we’ve made. You can be strong and strident, you can do interviews with the best of them and hold your own, and you don’t need to be cowed by anybody.
Bill Turnbull taught me everything at the beginn
