Jo Whiley reveals how 'relentless' abuse from Radio 2 listeners affected her
'Some days it was hard to walk out of my front door'
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Your support makes all the difference.Jo Whiley has spoken out about the “relentless” abuse she received during her time as BBC Radio 2’s drivetime host, admitting it left her tearful and struggling to leave her home.
The 53-year-old joined Simon Mayo’s Radio 2 show in 2018, marking the first time a woman had presented in the timeslot for more than 20 years.
However, her stint on the show ignited a wave of abuse from people who suggested she only landed the position to increase the female presence on the station.
“I have only ever wanted to be judged for my work, not my sex,” she told the Mail On Sunday’s Event magazine.
“Aside from family dramas, this is the toughest thing I’ve had to endure.”
Whiley revealed that she was met with a “wall of resistance” from a vocal group of listeners, adding that the relentless criticism had “chipped away” at her.
“I was tearful quite a lot of the time,” she explained.
“Some days it was hard to walk out of my front door, let alone present a radio show.
“I would go on Twitter to tell listeners about a great interview coming up and be bombarded with people being vicious.”
The broadcaster added that making it through the difficult period made her reassess her identity.
“It made me look at who I am not just as a broadcaster but as a person,” she explained.
“It’s too easy to hate these days, to forget there’s someone just doing their thing, on the receiving end of such hostility.”
Whiley’s co-host Mayo previously called out the abuse she received in a number of tweets posted last October, writing: “I’ve loved working with the exceptional Jo Whiley and when the show was ‘reconfigured’ she was my first and only choice.
“Some of the abuse she has had here has been appalling. Support for a show is one thing, assaulting the dignity of a warm-hearted and loyal friend is another.”
The duo’s stint on the show came to an end in December 2018, when Sara Cox took over the drivetime slot.
Whiley will now host her own Radio 2 show, beginning at 7pm, while Mayo has left the station after 17 years.
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