One minute you’re shouting to your mate to get more shots at the bar and the next you’re shouting to your other half to get more wipes because there’s baby poo all down your arm. Life comes at you fast.
Especially in an industry that moves at 100mph and waits for no one. I’ve been perusing a career as a presenter ever since leaving 6th form in 2004. Travelling down for auditions in London from the Midlands on the latest train at night because it was the cheapest. Sleeping on my mate’s uni halls floor, saying yes to every presenting job and working out the rest as I went along.
My big break came in 2010, whilst I was still working part time at New Look, god rest its soul, when I got the call up from the bosses at channel 5 to be their new weather host. I didn’t have a clue about the weather, or geography for that matter! As I say: I always said yes.
My main passion has always been comedy and so no matter what the job I’ve always managed to shoehorn in my sense of humour. I was the first weather presenter to go viral for sneaking words, song lyrics and movie references into my forecasts (yes American TikTok weatherman Adam, I walked so you could run!) and it was my Star Wars themed forecast in 2015 that catapulted my career onto the right path: entertainment. I was now seen as someone with a fun personality and that 100% lead to my career in radio. Starting with my own show on Heart evenings and leading to me being poached for the Capital Breakfast show in 2020 that I currently co-host with Jordan North and Chris Stark.
Working in a male dominated industry I did always feel pressure to prove I was as good as the lads. I’ve never wanted to be treated differently to the men, just equal. However there’s a fact of life that as a woman, if you want to have a baby, at some point you have to be treated differently and you really do have to stop! I didn’t want to admit this. I didn’t want to stop anything. I’d worked too hard for too long that I didn’t want the momentum to slow down.
To the point where in January 2024 I had a dilemma of getting the biggest opportunity of my career cover hosting This Morning with Dermot O’Leary and yet I wasn’t ready to announce I was pregnant as I didn’t want this to affect or overshadow what I was doing. 'This size 10 has come small' said Rachael the stylist as I squeezed into a pink suit that she had to cut open at the back, day 2 of hosting the biggest morning show in television at 20 weeks pregnant!
I worked right up until 2 weeks before I was due, and came back to work three months later. This may sound ridiculous, but it’s the reality of my life. I needed to pay my bills and I needed to pick up where I’d left off, because at the exact same time as This Morning taking off I had also launched a brand new breakfast radio show that had my name on it, but currently someone else’s voice.
In my situation it made sense for me to go back to work and for my fiancé Jake to take over the parental leave. He’s an amazing dad and I’m lucky that despite the 4am alarm for radio, unless I have other jobs booked in I can be home for midday and spend the rest of my day with Ruby. Yes it’s meant sacrificing certain opportunities and sleep… Christ some days I look like a hungover Spongbob SquarePants, a shrivelled dry sponge of a woman, but the second I see Ruby smile and laugh it melts my heart and makes me feel so thankful to have her in my life.
It’s a ridiculous juggle and I don’t always get it right. I’m wary that people may see the funny parts I share on social media and not realise that the day before I cried over a cold cup of tea that I never got to drink. But I’m like any other mum. Some days smashing it and others on the verge of a mental breakdown. However as a former Yes girl, having a reason to say 'no' feels liberating and I finally feel able to put life before work.
Sian Welby is a TV presenter and radio host, and hosts Capital Breakfast with Jordan North and Chris Stark.