Louise Minchin has revealed why she felt it so important to speak out on her experience of the menopause.
The BBC Breakfast star, 50, was widely praised after airing a documentary in which she spoke about dealing with the symptoms of perimenopause, which included heart palpitations, hot flushes, anxiety, being short tempered and – worst of all – a feeling that she wasn't being herself.
The film gave viewers a candid look into Minchin's struggles coming to terms with all of this, and also sparked an important national conversation.
Discussing why she felt it was important to speak out, Minchin told The Telegraph : "I genuinely felt I was going over some sort of cliff-edge – I was full of trepidation.
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"But I just had this nagging feeling we should be doing something about the menopause.
"The younger generation are so good at talking about periods and being open so why aren't we?"
She added that she considered herself part of a "generation of change," and felt lucky to be supported and accepted by everyone at work after being so vocal.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast following the short film, Louise thanked viewers for the incredible response they gave her.
"Thank you so much to all of you who have been joining in this conversation," she said.
“We wanted to start to talk about it and I felt really nervous at the beginning of this week, but I have genuinely been touched, overwhelmed by all the messages, thank you so much."
Minchin then read a Tweet from one grateful fan, who claimed that they had "no idea what to expect" before she begun to feel symptoms of the menopause.
Comfortingly, Minchin responded that she could relate, and candidly reflected on the time that she felt downbeat as a result of the changes.
Now, with a combination of hormone replacements – progestrone tablets and oestrogen gel – and exercise, the Team GB triathlete claims to feel her "old self" again.
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