Holly Willoughby has recalled how she felt she "wasn't up to" hosting This Morning at the start of her career after critics doubted her ability to handle political segments.
The presenter, 41, who joined the ITV show in 2009, recalled how her confidence was knocked after a "dreadful" interview with then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown shortly after she had joined.
Now more than a decade into the job, Holly admitted during her first few years on the show she experienced "imposter syndrome" and would let Phillip Schofield, 60, take the lead with interviews with politicians.
In an interview with The Daily Mail 's Weekend Magazine, Holly recalled her disastrous interview with former PM Gordon, now 71, just two months into hosting the show.
"I was dreadful. The worst thing was that so many people in the industry had said I couldn't do that job. I wanted to prove myself," she said.
"When it came to the interview, I was trying to read out questions from the script, I was saying words I didn't even understand, mangling up sentences and completely floundering. I was awful.
"Various critics had said, "She'll be OK with the fluffy fashion pieces but how will she do a serious political interview?" And they were right. Presenting that show is about being able to do everything from light to serious. I wasn't up to the job."
The TV host said some critics had suspected she would be fine with "fluffy fashion pieces" but had questioned if she could do a serious political interview, adding: "They were right."
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Further discussing her career, she said in her twenties and thirties she felt "incredibly grateful" to be given presenting jobs on TV but "never really [felt] good enough."
She recalled having "massive imposter syndrome" and underestimating herself - just as critics did - though it's something Holly has worked on over subsequent years.
Holly has said she now tries to be less critical of herself, saying she "will never be perfect as a presenter" - with her revealing she's found that being herself is the key to success.
She is comfortable asking the questions she wants to in interviews and has said that her new attitude has boosted her confidence, with her saying she had to "trust" in herself more.
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