Dame Jenni Murray revealed how she really felt about her Woman's Hour exit, confirming she never wanted to quit. The veteran broadcaster, who passed away aged 75 on 12 March, announced she was leaving her BBC Radio 4 show after 33 years in 2020. After joining Woman's Hour in 1987, she went on to become one of the UK's most influential broadcaster's, known for her interviews with an extraordinary range of influential women and her raw openness about subjects others perhaps wouldn't be so vocal about.

In 2006, Dame Jenni was praised for announcing her breast cancer diagnosis live on air, sparking a conversation between other women. After more than three decades fronting the radio show, Jenni announced she was stepping down as she approached her 70th birthday, explaining she wanted to try new things.

However, it turns out this was not the reason she left. Speaking at a FiLia Charity talk in 2021, Dame Jenni recalled being approached by a manager at the BBC, who told her she could no longer incite the debate she wanted due to backlash online.

She said: "I had done that programme for 33 years. I had never, is c***ed up an appropriate word? Probably not.

"I had never been perceived as someone who couldn't be trusted and suddenly I had a manager coming into my office saying, 'Oh god, Jenni. Oh god, oh god. Have you seen all the shoutings on Twitter? I don't think we can let you discuss this question anymore.' That's what happened."

Dame Jenni stuck it out for three more years, but came to the decision she could no longer work in an environment like that.

She continued: "Three years later I went and said I've decided to quit because I thought I can't work in this atmosphere. I can't do what I love doing in this not being trusted sense.

"I made that excuse, 'I've done it for 33 years, I'm coming up to my 70th birthday, I'll do it until October and then I'm off because I need to do something different.' That was bulls**t."

She added: "I did not want to leave Woman's Hour. I loved it. I absolutely loved it. But I couldn't stay in that atmosphere."

Dame Jenni recalled a friend who worked at The Telegraph pointing out that "all those of us who are on this side are now writing for right-wing newspapers because the others won't have us".

But that didn't bother Jenni, who worked for Daily Mail at the time, because she still had one important aim.

"As long as I can get the message out there, I don't care. I just want to get the message out and keep it out," she said.