Susanna Reid has said she wanted to have a “masculine air” about her when she started presenting news bulletins 20 years ago.
The Good Morning Britain anchor, who said it is “wonderful” that women do not feel they have to dress or look a certain way, also said she was not very comfortable with herself during her early TV career.
Looking ahead to her forthcoming milestone birthday, 49-year-old Reid told Fabulous magazine: “50 is energetic – it’s not the cut-off point any more.
If I am not mistaken, this was my very first national news bulletin for BBC TV 20 years ago. https://t.co/JykjJpkNCN
— Susanna Reid (@susannareid100) January 21, 2020
“It’s absolutely powering through. I definitely feel more comfortable with myself.
“One of the things I really noticed about looking back at myself on TV 20 years ago, is that I wasn’t very comfortable with me.”
She said she wished she could look like Patsy Kensit, her “absolute idol”.
“Finally, approaching 50, I’ve realised I’m never going to look like Patsy Kensit!” she added.
Reflecting on her first BBC news bulletin from 20 years ago, which she recently shared on Twitter, Reid said: “I sound incredibly posh because I must have thought putting on a posh accent would make me sound more authoritative.
“And I have this, what I describe as Lego hair, my Playmobil hair, this kind of news wig where I thought if I had a crop and I didn’t look in the least bit glamorous, I’d look exceptionally serious.
“That’s kind of what you had to do.”
She added: “I wore these smart, long, masculine jackets from Marks & Spencer. There was nothing foxy about what I was wearing at all.
“I wanted to have a masculine air about me.
“What’s wonderful now is women feel like they don’t have to look like that.”
Reid, who turns 50 in December, said “age is totally irrelevant” and that she has always believed that “ageing is a blessing”.
Reid previously appeared on BBC News 24 until joining the BBC Breakfast hosting team in 2003, where she remained until 2014 when she joined ITV’s Good Morning Britain.