She’s been smiling onscreen for months — but off-camera, the struggle was real and relentless. When she finally spoke, it wasn’t dramatic, just honest — and that honesty landed like thunder

Former BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin has issued an update about her health, following what she previously described as an “excruciating” ordeal. The 56-year-old has championed menopause awareness in recent years, stressing the vital need for frank discussions and support for women facing similar struggles.

Back in 2022, the broadcaster revealed the emotional toll her menopause journey took on her, especially while on live television. Speaking to Hello! Magazine, she recalled having “an embarrassing conversation” with her boss about being “too hot and sweaty” at work.

Looking back on that period, she told the publication: “I wasn’t being a diva. It was excruciating.”

Louise departed the programme in 2021, and went on to take a three-year hiatus from presenting before joining BBC’s Rip Off Britain last year.

During this period of time, she took on a new career as an author, while also sticking to her fitness regime consisting of; swimming, cycling and running.

Providing a health update in an exclusive interview with Reach PLC, Louise said she is feeling “great”, thanks to exercise.

She explained: “It’s helped me in lots of ways, but when I was having really bad menopausal issues, I had both physical and what I would call psychological issues.

“So, I was sleeping really badly, as well as having horrific hot sweats that kept me awake.

“Also, I’m not a very anxious person, I’m blessed that I’m not, but I was feeling way more anxious than the Louise that I know, but I found that, again, exercise was really good for my physical health and all my bones and all the rest of it.

“But again, it just gave me that moment of peace and calm, which quieted those anxious thoughts.”

Louise said that going through the change made her wanted to curl up into a ball at times, but said pushing to get outdoors made her feel “so much better”.

“Exercise has really held my hand through lots of difficult moments of my life, and particularly those moments when I was finding menopause and symptoms really difficult,” she added.

Discussing how she’s feeling now, Louise went on to say: “I’m great, I’m 57 on Monday and it’s really interesting, I’ve been on a big journey with exercise really, and actually what I’ve learned through that is, I am really proud with what my body can do, not necessarily what it looks like, it looks like what it looks like, but to just kind of accept that it’s good.

“That’s been a real learning for me, that getting older you should be proud of what your body has done and what it can do, rather than how it looks.”

This weekend, Louise joins forces with her former BBC Breakfast colleague Dan Walker and many others to tackle the Tour De 4 challenge.

A fresh cycling venture, the event emerged from Sir Chris Hoy’s ambition to transform attitudes towards stage 4 cancer after receiving his own diagnosis in 2023.

“It is to raise money and awareness for those living with stage four cancer – and it’s absolutely amazing,” Louise expressed.

“I know Chris quite well, I’ve known him for quite a long time now, and I know it’ll be a hugely inspiring and emotional, exciting, and exhausting day.

“I know the bike ride is really important to him and he’s been absolutely on it, advertising it and talking about it, and I know he’s really excited for the day.”