‘Thrown under the bus’: Melanie Sykes says she quit TV after bad treatment by industry

Melanie Sykes was a regular face on TV, presenting shows including Today with Des & Mel and The Great Pottery Throw Down. Photograph: Alan Strutt

For years, Melanie Sykes was a regular face on TV, in shows such as Today with Des and Mel, The Big Breakfast and The Great Pottery Throw Down.

But having been diagnosed autistic and endured a breakdown, the former model has revealed in her autobiography that she has quit mainstream TV and the “horror story” she encountered as a woman in the industry.