Former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq has spoken about her decision to step back from television presenting to focus on her children, describing the challenge of balancing parenting and work commitments.
Huq, who holds the record as the longest-running female host of Blue Peter from 1997 to 2008, says she consciously took a step back after presenting the Sky reality show King of the Nerds in 2015.
'I remember I'd had a baby and thought I could do it all, but it was filming in Chelmsford. I couldn't stay overnight because I had a baby, so I'd be picked up before the baby had woken, expressing milk, then sitting there exploding with milk while presenting,' she said.
The presenter, who has two children, said she wanted to avoid missing key moments as they grow up. 'The time goes so fast – already both are in school and it feels like yesterday they were born. These years don't come back.'
Huq is also the author of a new children's book, Cookie Haque, about a girl with Bangladeshi parents who loves science and long words – reflecting Huq's own passion for STEM subjects, which she contrasts with a modern obsession with celebrity.
