‘I was branded b***dy useless’: BBC Breakfast’s Naga Munchetty reveals she had her work ‘thrown at her’ and was left in floods of tears by bosses
- Naga is the second longest-serving member of the current presenting team, having joined the show in 2009, before becoming a main presenter in 2014
BBC Breakfast broadcaster Naga Munchetty has admitted she was branded ‘b***dy useless’ by bosses in the early days of her career.
The TV presenter and journalist, 47, has said she had copy ‘thrown at her’ and left the office in ‘floods of tears.’
Talking to Radio Times, Naga said that the harsh treatment made her better at her job in the long-run.
‘I was branded b***dy useless’: BBC Breakfast’s Naga Munchetty has revealed she had her work ‘thrown at her’ and was left in floods of tears by bosses in the early days of her career
She said: ‘I had copy thrown at me when I first started in newspapers. I was told I was b****y useless.
‘I did go home many a day in tears, but equally, I learnt not to make mistakes, that mistakes weren’t acceptable.
She said that this made her do her research ‘twice as well and to the best of her ability.’
‘That fear of making a mistake meant that you did your research twice as well, and to the best of your ability,’ she explained.
She said: ‘I did go home many a day in tears, but equally, I learnt not to make mistakes, that mistakes weren’t acceptable’ – pictured while hosting the show
‘I remember when I first decided I wanted to explore being on air, I was told, “You are quite sensitive.”
‘You do take criticism quite hard and you dwell on things. You need to toughen up”. And I did.’
MailOnline has contacted the BBC for more information.
Naga recently revealed that she has tried to ‘hide’ her Asian heritage in the past in a bid to fit in.
The presenter admitted she tried to distance herself from her Asian background during her younger years.
She told the BBC: ‘I know what it’s like to hide parts of my whole self, to play down my Asian heritage – it’s difficult to acknowledge that I’ve done it, and hard to admit. Since I was young, I felt I needed to, so that I fitted-in more easily.’
News: Pictured with the late Bill Turnbull, Louise Minchin and Charlie Stayt on the show – Naga said she is a better broadcaster and journalist due to the treatment she received in her early career
Naga discussed how she first encountered racism as a seven-year-old, with the experience sticking with her ever since.
‘I have experienced racism,’ she said. ‘You never forget the first time you hear that painful and distressing word. I was seven, when someone I thought was a friend at school, told me we could no longer hang out.
‘They used the p-word, making clear the reason was because of the colour of my skin. The sense of shame was overwhelming.
‘I was told I didn’t belong when up until then I assumed I did. From that moment I knew I was seen as different. That first hurt never goes away.’
Naga also revealed that her parents have experienced racism in the UK, saying: ‘I grew up in south London.
‘My dad was from Mauritius and my mum was from India. Both were nurses. They too received racial insults at work, including the p-word.’
And Naga can still vividly remember trying to hide her life at home from her classmates, as she said: ‘I remember being paranoid about smelling of the curries my mum cooked when I was at school.’
Since becoming a prominent face of BBC Breakfast, Naga has also spoken about the abuse she’s received online from viewers.
Read the full interview in Radio Times, out now
In 2016, Naga said she was ‘not there to be abused’ as she spoke out about the horrendous racial and sexist abuse she was bombarded with on Twitter.
She said she accepted that criticism is part of her role in the public eye but will always call out those who are simply abusive.
Previous tweets have claimed the award-winning journalist is only employed at the BBC for her ethnicity, but have also criticised her hair, glasses and even made distasteful sexual remarks.
She previously told the Daily Mirror: ‘I’m on telly, I’m in your home, so if you want to criticise me, fine. But I’m not there to be abused. Nobody is there to be abused.
‘You don’t abuse someone while they’re doing their job, and you don’t make racist, sexist or bigoted comments.
‘If someone says, “She did a bad job of that interview, I’ve come away and not understood anything”, I would go back and re-examine that interview. Racist and sexist stuff, I just think, “You’re an idiot.”‘
Naga is the second longest-serving member of the current presenting team, having joined the show in 2009, before becoming a main presenter in 2014.
Read the full interview in Radio Times, out now.
Balancing act: Naga with her mother Muthu who she said was told: ‘You P*** bitch, get your hands off me’ after they moved to England in 1971
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