Clara Amfo says depression played a part in Radio 1 exit

Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo has spoken about how despair performed a component in her choice to go away the station final yr.Amfo has beforehand spoken about her durations of struggling together with her psychological well being and anxiousness, and instructed Fearne Cotton’s Pleased Place podcast final week she has “handled deep, deep, deep despair in my life”.She instructed her former Radio 1 colleague she determined to go away the station partly as a result of she felt “utterly satiated” by the job and did not need it to turn into “a chore”.However she went on to say she was affected by despair in 2023 and took a break “to have slightly reset”, earlier than deciding to go away for good.Amfo joined Radio 1 in 2015 and took over Cotton’s mid-morning slot the identical yr, earlier than transferring to Annie Mac’s night present in 2021. Amfo left the station in March 2024.She additionally took half in Strictly Come Dancing in 2020, co-hosted the Brit Awards final yr, and is a daily presenter on BBC One’s The One Present.She instructed Cotton her despair had turn into notably unhealthy in the beginning of 2023.”Mate, I used to be within the flipping trenches,” she mentioned. “I believe I used to be burnt out, I wasn’t caring for myself correctly, I believe I used to be a bit type of overwhelmed by life’s bizarre – not bizarre, legitimate – injustices.”I simply wasn’t feeling nice and I used to be in a little bit of a damaging headspace, and yeah I used to be actually, actually depressed mid-2023, and I took a while off of radio, and simply needed to have slightly reset. And that is once I determined I used to be going to go away my present, truly, on the time.”Cotton, who has beforehand mentioned she left Radio 1 as a result of the job was “ruining her thoughts”, instructed Amfo she had additionally skilled “very, very low psychological well being in durations”.Amfo additionally spoke about different components behind her departure from Radio 1 earlier within the interview, saying she was decided not “to resent something that I do” in her job.”I do not ever need something to really feel prefer it’s being compelled or prefer it’s a chore. And I wasn’t feeling that method, however I would like to have the ability to hearken to music as a fan at all times, fairly than as a enterprise,” she defined.”I would like to have the ability to discuss to individuals on a human stage, fairly than considering, I’ve acquired to get that viral interview clip.”She quoted a remark that Annie Mac instructed her when she left. “She was identical to, ‘Yeah babe, I am simply able to do my subsequent factor’.”And I believe that is how I felt. I felt so utterly satiated by it and I used to be like, nicely, I believe there’s nothing new for me to do. I might keep on and do it. I might. However I believe one factor I realized is simply because you are able to do one thing does not imply you at all times ought to.”BBC Information used AI to assist write the abstract on the high of this text. It was edited by BBC journalists. Discover out extra.