Carol Vorderman has stepped down from her role on LBC after “burning out”, resulting in a hospital stay.
In an emotional update, posted to her Instagram account the 63-year-old former Countdown presenter shared that she ended up seeking medical assistance after suffering from a “tight feeling” in her chest.
She explained: “After working 7-day weeks for as long as I can remember, I finally burned out just over 2 weeks ago and I ended up overnight in hospital.
“Luckily, after many scans and checks, we know that I don’t have any underlying health issues whatsoever.”
Carol admitted that while the health scare didn’t uncover anything too serious, it made her and her family sit down and talk about how much she was doing careerwise. She said that her nearest and dearest gave her a “talking to” asking her to “slow down”.
Announcing her career move, the TV personality wrote: “After a proper talking to from my family and my buddies, I’ve taken the health scare as a warning sign to slow down slightly and have decided to cut my work back to weekdays for now.
“It pains me to have to do it, but I’ve decided not to carry on with my Sunday show on @LBC. I’m fed up that I’ve had to make the decision, as the show’s been really lively and a total joy, with so many new callers from around the country and growing numbers of listeners.”
She added: “The good news is that I’ll still be part of the LBC family (they’re a good family) from time to time – so stand by for more details.”
Carol thanked her fans, friends and followers for their unwavering support as she promised: “I’ll be continuing to make a lot of mischief and call out corruption and wrongdoing – that isn’t stopping but for now an ever so slightly less frenetic chapter begins.”
Her LBC co-star, Natasha Devon, was gutted by the news as she commented: “I was honoured to call you a colleague. It’s OF COURSE most important you look after yourself first xxx”.
Meanwhile, fans pleaded with her to keep well. One wrote: “Look after yourself please. We need you. What you do is amazing and you can only keep doing it if you are well.”
Another added: “Oh no Carol, so sorry to hear that, but it’s so important to take care of yourself and your health – and it’s tough working 7-day weeks – so you’re doing the right thing here. And yes, please, do keep causing mischief and call out corruption!!”
Carol had been covering Sunday’s 4pm till 7pm slot on LBC after starting her time at the station as a guest initially. When she first started in the role, she said: “On Sunday afternoon, I’ll be using my voice – as you might expect – to cause a commotion.
“I won’t be shy to say things that others won’t and I’ll hold the corrupt to account without fear or favour.
“And obviously I can’t wait to hear from the listeners – all of it, without apology or embarrassment; their worries, their joys, their ideas. To quote Bob Dylan: “the times they are a-changin’ and I can’t wait to get started – bring it on!”