A BBC News veteran quit the organisation to focus on her health and happiness.
Presenter Rebecca Jones has hung up her presenting hat after a stellar 28-year run on television to pursue an entirely different career worlds away from her time under the studio lights. Rebecca became a familiar face on the BBC, anchoring coverage during some of the most seismic events in recent history.
She covered leading reports on the Ukraine war and the shocking London Bridge terror attack. She was also at the helm during the sad news that the late Queen had passed.
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But come August 2023, Rebecca bid farewell to the BBC and hasn’t looked back despite taking a big financial hit during her career move. Back in 2021, she decided to explore other avenues after facing a health scare that led to A&E visits with acute pains and vertigo-like symptoms while at work.
(Image: BBC)
Medical experts highlighted burnout as the culprit and advised she took a month away from the BBC, where she was an Art Correspondent and news anchor. Rebecca told The Times: “I also come from a generation of women who felt that to survive in the workplace you needed to plough on and deliver.
“But I recognised I was at a turning point. It gradually dawned on me that things had to change, not only for my health, but also for my happiness.”
(Image: BBC)
After waving goodbye to the BBC, Rebecca found solace in Barrecore, a fusion of ballet, yoga and Pilates exercises, and has openly praised it for maintaining her mental and physical health amid the chaos of the newsroom. She shared: “Undoubtedly it helped my sanity and stamina while I was working in the hectic environment of the newsroom.”, reports the Mirror.
At 58, she became a certified instructor and now leads a whopping 14 classes weekly. Rebecca has discussed the transformative effect this lifestyle change has had on her wellbeing, stating: “I’m no longer at the beck and call of the news desk and I am in control of what I do. I sleep better, there are no more heart palpitations and after years in pain, my stiff neck and frozen shoulder have disappeared.”
(Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment/Youtube)
And in a lovely twist, A-lister Tom Hanks emerged as one of the early well-wishers celebrating Rebecca’s bold move. They crossed paths when she interviewed him for BBC Radio 4’s Today show and again during his book event at Liverpool’s Empire Theatre.
Sharing words straight from Hollywood royalty, Rebecca disclosed that Hanks penned in a signed book: “Good luck on that new adventure. Closer and closer to your status as a creature of a renaissance.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
