BBC bosses thought I was a thick tea lady when I worked there but I got the last laugh, admits Steph McGovern
FORMER BBC Breakfast host, Steph McGovern has spoken out about the sexism she experienced before landing her own Channel 4 show, Steph’s Packed Lunch.
The presenter claimed in a recent interview that she had faced multiple incidents of misogyny throughout her career.
Steph, 41 spoke about how she was often dismissed and underestimated because she was a woman.
She said that BBC bosses believed she was a “thick” tea lady when she first started out as a reporter.
“People have underestimated me in the past, particularly when I was a business journalist interviewing CEOs. They would automatically assume I was there to make the tea or that I’d be thick,” Steph told Prima Magazine.
Despite her qualifications and expertise, she found herself having to constantly prove her worth and fight for recognition – but this only made her stronger.
Steph added: “But it made me think, ‘I’m going to show you!’
She continued: “I’d say to anyone now who’s lacking confidence or might be worried their background will hold them back, ‘Actually, it’s your superpower’.”
The TV star also shared that her Geordie working-class background made it difficult for her to fit in at the Beeb.
She penned: “At first, I felt like I really stood out at the BBC. Nobody was mean to me, but I felt I was unusual because of my background.”
The Channel 4 host continued: “I’d suggest stories – such as the fact that people in poorer areas had to hire TVs – and I’d know people were secretly thinking, ‘That doesn’t happen’.
She concluded: “But it was an epiphany for me, I realised I could bring something new to the table. I refused to let being different put me off.”