The big interview
Steph McGovern
‘I thought
it was just me’
The big interview
Steph McGovern
‘I thought
it was just me’
AS A JOURNALIST AND PRESENTER, SHE HAS MADE A CAREER OUT OF DEMYSTIFYING THE COMPLICATED. NOW STEPH McGOVERN TURNS HER TRADEMARK HONESTY ON HER OWN EXPERIENCE OF PERIMENOPAUSE
AS A JOURNALIST AND PRESENTER, SHE HAS MADE A CAREER OUT OF DEMYSTIFYING THE COMPLICATED. NOW STEPH McGOVERN TURNS HER TRADEMARK HONESTY ON HER OWN EXPERIENCE OF PERIMENOPAUSE
For over a decade, Steph McGovern, 43, has been a familiar face on our TV screens. From her days as BBC Breakfast's business presenter to fronting her own show, Channel 4's Steph's Packed Lunch, she is loved for her warmth and straight-talking nature, adapting to whatever is thrown at her on live TV – including filming her show from her own front room during lockdown.
More recently, Steph has found herself in what she calls 'the wilderness' – the years of figuring out what comes next. So far, that has included co-hosting the podcast The Rest Is Money, writing her debut crime novel, enjoying time with her five-year-old daughter – and thriving on the unpredictability.
From the start of her career, Steph has been determined to give voice to stories that matter to everyday people, driven by what she calls her 'industry-focused' school in her hometown of Middlesbrough. There, her teachers gave her the tools to succeed.
'We were given that confidence to go out and get a job,' she says. 'If you work hard, try your best and be nice to people, there's nothing to stop you in whatever industry you want to get into.'
It's also Steph's instinct to make complex issues understandable that has defined her work and garnered so much public support. 'I want and like to be able to explain things to people,' Steph says. 'Whatever's happening, whether it's business, politics or finance, it's not always as complicated as it's made out to be.'
Recognising the signs
However, it's Steph's recent openness about perimenopause that has struck a deep chord with her female following, and something that comes up when she arrives on our set for her photoshoot. Fresh from recording her podcast, Steph is as chatty and candid as you'd expect, striking up a conversation with our stylist Natalie about how perimenopause has impacted her, and acknowledging that this honesty is 'quite different to how it was in the past'.
Like many women, Steph assumed that perimenopause would mainly be a gradual easing-off of periods. Instead, it arrived as a shock: heavier periods, anxiety and a sudden loss of confidence.
'I wasn't really aware of what perimenopause was until about a year ago, and it showed up quite dramatically, in a way I didn't expect,' she admits. 'I thought I'd get fewer, lighter periods or erratic mood swings. But the reality was much heavier periods and anxiety, and not really understanding why it was happening.'
There were lots of moments that could have been signs, but Steph remembers one vividly.
'My periods are normally so regular, but I was on a flight, about to go to a major meeting about a big TV show, when I just felt this "flooding",' she recalls. 'The pain was excruciating. The bleeding was so heavy, and I had to change. I thought, "Is this happening to just me?"'
After sharing her experience on social media, she was stunned. I ended up posting about it and my inbox exploded. Women everywhere, from friends to strangers to celebrities I'd worked with in TV – all of them were telling me the same thing: "That happened to me, too."
'I think people need to know that even if you're someone like me, with all the privilege of being flown about and having a brilliant glam squad, you still have those moments. Most people just don't talk about it.'
For Steph, the signs weren't just physical. 'Anxiety has been a big one for me,' she reveals. 'With perimenopause, I found that I've had moments of, "Oh, I don't know if I can do this," in situations I'd usually find easy, such as doing live TV or walking out on stage in front of a big audience.'
For over a decade, Steph McGovern, 43, has been a familiar face on our TV screens. From her days as BBC Breakfast's business presenter to fronting her own show, Channel 4's Steph's Packed Lunch, she is loved for her warmth and straight-talking nature, adapting to whatever is thrown at her on live TV – including filming her show from her own front room during lockdown.
More recently, Steph has found herself in what she calls 'the wilderness' – the years of figuring out what comes next. So far, that has included co-hosting the podcast The Rest Is Money, writing her debut crime novel, enjoying time with her five-year-old daughter – and thriving on the unpredictability.
From the start of her career, Steph has been determined to give voice to stories that matter to everyday people, driven by what she calls her 'industry-focused' school in her hometown of Middlesbrough. There, her teachers gave her the tools to succeed.
'We were given that confidence to go out and get a job,' she says. 'If you work hard, try your best and be nice to people, there's nothing to stop you in whatever industry you want to get into.'
It's also Steph's instinct to make complex issues understandable that has defined her work and garnered so much public support. 'I want and like to be able to explain things to people,' Steph says. 'Whatever's happening, whether it's business, politics or finance, it's not always as complicated as it's made out to be.'
Recognising the signs
However, it's Steph's recent openness about perimenopause that has struck a deep chord with her female following, and something that comes up when she arrives on our set for her photoshoot. Fresh from recording her podcast, Steph is as chatty and candid as you'd expect, striking up a conversation with our stylist Natalie about how perimenopause has impacted her, and acknowledging that this honesty is 'quite different to how it was in the past'.
Like many women, Steph assumed that perimenopause would mainly be a gradual easing-off of periods. Instead, it arrived as a shock: heavier periods, anxiety and a sudden loss of confidence.
'I wasn't really aware of what perimenopause was until about a year ago, and it showed up quite dramatically, in a way I didn't expect,' she admits. 'I thought I'd get fewer, lighter periods or erratic mood swings. But the reality was much heavier periods and anxiety, and not really understanding why it was happening.'
There were lots of moments that could have been signs, but Steph remembers one vividly.
'My periods are normally so regular, but I was on a flight, about to go to a major meeting about a big TV show, when I just felt this "flooding",' she recalls. 'The pain was excruciating. The bleeding was so heavy, and I had to change. I thought, "Is this happening to just me?"'
After sharing her experience on social media, she was stunned. I ended up posting about it and my inbox exploded. Women everywhere, from friends to strangers to celebrities I'd worked with in TV – all of them were telling me the same thing: "That happened to me, too."
'I think people need to know that even if you're someone like me, with all the privilege of being flown about and having a brilliant glam squad, you still have those moments. Most people just don't talk about it.'
For Steph, the signs weren't just physical. 'Anxiety has been a big one for me,' she reveals. 'With perimenopause, I found that I've had moments of, "Oh, I don't know if I can do this," in situations I'd usually find easy, such as doing live TV or walking out on stage in front of a big audience.'
‘Talking to friends
about it means
you have a way
to manage it’
‘Talking to friends
about it means
you have a way
to manage it’
The power of sharing
Initially, Steph assumed her feelings were down to being in a season when her career and responsibilities were changing.
'I didn't have my usual show and assumed it was because my work life was different,' she says.
After speaking on her podcast to Heather Jackson, GenM's CEO and co-founder, about her own experience, she began to think differently.
'I'd been for lots of tests because I broke my arm earlier this year, and I had some aches and pains,' she says. 'But after interviewing Heather, and her talking about going through the exact same situation, I realised what was happening to me could be perimenopause.'
Steph also recalls working on a female-fronted show, yet no one mentioning their own issues. 'Looking back, there were so many women quietly managing so much,' she says. 'I now think, "Wow, none of us ever said anything!"'
Steph is very clear that she believes menopause shouldn't be a private issue, especially in the workplace. 'We're getting better at talking about mental health, and there's some conversation about menopause, but the support is massively lacking,' she says. 'We need to talk about it more.'
Opening up about it on a professional and personal level is the key to thriving, she insists. 'Once you know, once you talk to your mates about it, you've got a way to manage it,' she says.
Steph even touches on the topic in her first crime novel, Deadline, released in July, which draws on her TV career as inspiration for the nail-biting plot. Fans of the book, which is released in paperback in 2026, will be excited to learn there's a second book in the works.
For now, Steph has plenty going on. She's just been announced as the new presenter of BBC's Crimewatch, and she will be popping up on our screens in other exciting upcoming TV projects.
'I've just been trying to figure out what it is I am, and what I want to do,' she admits. Whatever comes next, Steph is always going to remain open about it. 'Every day is a learning day,' she says. 'If talking about these things can help just one person, it's worth it.'
Deadline by Steph McGovern is out now in hardback (Macmillan)
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