LORRAINE Kelly has said a BBC Scotland chief told her at the start of her career that she would not succeed in television – because of her accent.
The TV presenter, who is celebrating 35 years in broadcasting, said she was “very nervous” on her first day on TV at the age of 25.
She said: “I had been working as a researcher at BBC Scotland and been told by the big boss that I would never make it in TV because of my Glasgow accent. I went down to London to meet all of the TV-am team and see the show being broadcast, before taking over at the Glasgow office.
“I will never forget, Anne Diamond and Mike Morris were interviewing the icon that is Bette Davis. I couldn’t believe I was in the same room as a living legend. I knew this was where I wanted to be.”
Kelly, 59, progressed rapidly to national television after first becoming a Scottish correspondent for TV-am in 1984.
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