Countryfile’s Ellie Harrison becomes the latest woman in her 40s to quit BBC to focus on family as she steps down from the show after 13 years to focus on raising her children
Last month Helen Skelton left BBC Radio 5 Live to spend more time with her children.
And now Ellie Harrison appears to have followed suit, leaving her role on BBC favorite Countryfile after 13 years to focus on raising her son and two daughters.
The long-time host, 45, who was a firm favorite with viewers, said she was leaving the show to spend more time with her family and pursue her ambitions to become an artist.
“After 13 years, my final column is a fond farewell to Countryfile – I will miss the people, places and stories,” she wrote in the latest issue of Countryfile magazine.
Thirteen-and-a-half years after arriving four hours early for my first Countryfile shoot, which culminated in me going to Ir Widdff (Snowdon) to deliver a freshly picked mushroom sandwich to Matt Baker, it was time to say goodbye.
She is gone! Countryfile presenter Ellie Harrison, 45, has revealed she is leaving the show after 13 years to focus on raising her children
‘It was a decision I made, such is the connection with the program, and boy, am I going to miss the geography field trips.’
She said she realized she needed to ‘chart a new course’ which involved spending more time at home.
“I realized that I didn’t need to sail to a whole new ocean or even a new sea, but to chart a new course somewhere in these waters, raising my three wonderful children, growing the family business and following my own creative calling to produce the art I made” , she said.
Ms Harrison lives in the Cotswolds with her GP husband Dr Matt Goodman and children Red, 13, Lux, 11, and a seven-year-old who she has not named publicly.
The presenter manages a five-acre ancient cider orchard, which she rents out to her local pub, while Dr Goodman founded health app MapMiHealth, which helps manage chronic conditions.
She stumbled onto television when she was chosen to cover Michaela Strachan’s maternity leave in Michaela’s Wild Challenge after working as a secretary on Channel 5 and turning down a role on children’s show Milkshake.
She joined Countrifie in 2009 and has presented a number of shows including Secret Britain, Country Tracks and appeared on The One Show.
“The winds of change blow, my hands turn the ore and I close my eyes to be comforted by Invictus: ‘I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.’ We will meet again one day,” she wrote in her column, quoting a poem by William Ernest Henley Invictus.
Departure: The long-time host, who was a huge favorite with viewers, said she was leaving the show to spend more time with her family
She added: “But like all finales, I will take all the lessons from these days with me on my journey. Some of them are purely practical.
“There are some more painful lessons that come with me: the belief that tradition doesn’t get a free pass and has to prove its place in the countryside; the issue of land ownership and payments (it is true that we are challenging outcomes that see millionaires being paid to burn biofuels with their windows open); the difficulty of showing the entire and graphic process of meat production; and a steady downward trend in the number of wild animals.
“But there are also joyful reminders that our village is gilded.” Along with the lessons, there are many things I will miss.’
Mrs Skelton shocked Radio 5 Live listeners when she quit her role last month, just one year on, to focus on looking after her children.
The presenter bid an emotional farewell to listeners of her Sunday morning slot as she explained her struggle to balance work with family life.
Mrs Skelton, 40, is a mother of three and has Ernie, eight, Louis, five, and 19-month-old daughter Elsie with ex-husband Richie Myler.
She announced in April last year that she was parting ways with Rugby League Ireland and Leeds Rhinos (33).