She was first female broadcaster to host a BBC Radio 1 prime-time program.
Jackie Brambles stated that she had moved to daytime television and enjoyed reporting in Los Angeles. However, her career was cut short after having children.
She said that motherhood is not easy for many women, especially those who are trying to balance a career and motherhood.
Miss Brambles is now preparing for her first “proper day job” since she became a stay at home mom.
With her self-titled, evening program on Greatest Hits Radio Network, the host will be making her return to radio national for the first time since 1997.
According to her, it was a difficult decision.
Jackie Brambles is back on national radio, 27 years after her retirement
‘I’ve got friends – and probably because they live nearer to London – it was easier for them to carry on in their career or they made a decision to still go for it full time and perhaps their partner helped out more.
“But, I believe that it doesn’t matter if you decide to work full-time and feel miserable for not being with your children, or if you choose to stay home and put your family first, and then struggle to make ends meet with your career. It’s a losing situation for many women.
Miss Brambles turned 21 in 1988 when she was first female to host a prime-time BBC Radio 1 show. She then moved to the weekday drive-time show the following year and was also a host on music TV programme Top Of The Pops – going by the name Jakki Brambles.
In 1994 she moved to America and became a reporter. She then went on to become a GMTV foreign correspondent. Miss Brambles appeared on Loose Women, and was a reporter for GMTV. She also covered Kaye Adams maternity leave from 2005 to 2009.
Miss Brambles stated: “I was honest with myself and I quit the game early, when Loose Women had finished, and my children were still toddlers.
Hosting: On Top of the Pops – Bruno Brookes
“We are a family of four who live in Scotland. This is our home, and our families chose to grow up here. It was during the Loose Women’s first few years that I was able, for a time, to be away from my family two or three days per week in order to visit London. While my husband led the domestic side, it was difficult to get away when they were infants.
‘But as they became toddlers, it just made everyone really unhappy when I left – me included – so I decided to scale things right back and be a stay-at-home mum and do freelancing occasionally when I could fit it.’
Miss Brambles said she is now facing a new hurdle as a parent – navigating social media. It is an ‘incredibly, really scary’ time for parents, according to the presenter.
“It is a constant judge who watches over you all the time, and it’s not always a fair judge. It can be really scary. There is no way to know the answer. It is not possible to say, “And here’s the rules for parents of young kids with social media access”,” she said.
“It is really frightening. My parents can’t tell me how they cope. It wasn’t there. While you travel towards the waterfall, your building the liferaft.
- Every Monday and Thursday, from 7-10pm onwards, Jackie Brambles’ Evening Show will be broadcast.
Love: David Tod and I leave Zebrano, London 2009 with our husband.