An Emotional Goodbye...

Please pass the tissues

Having worked on Lorraine for over a decade, it was always going to be an emotional goodbye. My last shift was on 9 June 2021, and it was my final show. It was a 4:30am start, and my studio guest was Olympic gold medallist Nicola Adams. As well as looking after GB's finest boxing champ, I also produced a Los Angeles Live hit, with Ross King delivering the latest Hollywood headlines. It was a packed show, with cookery, correspondents, health news and more.

Post-show, a wonderful team had done an amazing job of organising flowers, cake and prosecco. It was all beautifully prepared and waiting in the green room. We weren't quite out of the COVID woods, and ITV still had safety precautions in place. Only virtual hugs were allowed, and we were still wearing masks.

                                             My farewell flowers

                                          Prosecco & cake :)

Because of precautionary measures, not many of the Lorraine team were around on my final day. It was a shame that I didn't get to see everyone, but it was still an incredibly special morning. My amazing team managed to organise a phenomenal leaving video for me, which was highly emotional. There were messages from people I'd worked with across the show, and Dr Hilary Jones, Ross King and Mark Heyes all wished me well. Lorraine rounded off the whole video, which ran for around 11 minutes. The team made me feel loved and valued, and I was in floods of tears as I watched it. Looking back, it was slightly embarrassing :).

                                           Lorraine ended my highly emotional leaving video

                                         The King of LA: Ross King sent his love from La La Land

                                           The Good Doctor: Dr Hilary Jones wished me well

                                           Stylist Extraordinaire: Mark Heyes styled out a goodbye

After watching the video, I went for a lovely post-show brunch with my team. Restaurants with outside seating had thankfully reopened, and it was a lovely sunny morning. 

The amazing thing about leaving ITV, and the silver lining, was the fact that I could always go back as a freelancer. Knowing that I could return to Lorraine during the holidays or after my training gently eased the sadness of leaving. Despite the many tears, everything within me knew that I was making the right decision. I wanted to make a difference and train to become a primary school teacher. It was a privilege to become a student again, and I was ready to fulfil this dream :).