Naga Munchetty was missing from her usual spot on the BBC Breakfast sofa again this week – and her absence hasn’t gone unnoticed by viewers.
The journalist usually fronts the show with Charlie Stayt from Thursday to Saturday but has been absent from both last week’s and this week’s shows.
© BBC/James StackBusiness presenter Nina Warhurst has been standing in for Naga, and on Thursday, hosted the show solo from the Salford studio whilst Charlie reported on the general election announcement from Downing Street in London.
Taking to social media, fans have been questioning Naga’s whereabouts and missing seeing her on their screens. One person wrote: “@TVNaga01 are you ok? We miss you from our TV screens in the morning,” while another asked: “Anyone seen Naga Munchetty? I think I’m actually missing her today.”
© BBCA third person penned: “@TVNaga01 Not like you to be away. Missing you. Hope you are ok.”
Listeners of her BBC Radio 5 Live show will also feel Naga’s absence as she’s missed the last four shows. The 49-year-old usually hosts the 11am to 1pm slot every Monday to Wednesday.
While Naga’s absence hasn’t been addressed on the show, it’s possible that she’s simply taking a well-deserved break from work.
© BBC/James StackIn a recent interview, Naga detailed her morning routine ahead of hosting BBC Breakfast, including her “stupidly early” alarm that goes off at 3.45am to get her in the MediaCity studio for 4.50am.
“Three days a week I get up stupidly early,” she penned in The Times. “My first alarm is at 3.45 and I’m in the BBC Breakfast studio by 4.50. On radio days I wake up naturally at 5.45, but I’m a terrible prevaricator.”
Despite her early starts, Naga went on to say that she’s grateful for her working hours. “It’s my great good fortune I don’t work 9 to 5 — I don’t have the attention span, I’m a goldfish,” explained the broadcaster. “As soon as the show is over, it’s gone. I might meet a friend for lunch — I like a big meal in the middle of the day. Or get my shopping done. And I’m a big fan of a nap if my body needs one. I can sleep any time, any place, anywhere, no fear or shame. I call it my superpower.”
© James StackNaga’s absence from work comes a year after she first opened up about living with adenomyosis, a debilitating condition which causes the lining of the womb to grow into the muscles of the womb.
During an episode of her 5 Live show, Naga told her listeners: “Right now as I sit here talking to you: I am in pain. Constant, nagging pain. In my uterus. Around my pelvis. Sometimes it runs down my thighs. And I’ll have some level of pain for the entire show and for the rest of the day until I go to sleep.” Watch what she said in the video below.
In October last year, Naga spoke to members of Parliament‘s Women and Equalities Select Committee about her condition, revealing that she had always been told to “suck it up” by doctors despite her excruciating pain and heavy menstrual bleeding.
Naga opted to undergo private treatment, telling MPs it was “the only time” she felt she could “force explanations” from her gynaecologist without feeling bad that she was “taking up more than 10 minutes of my GP’s time because there was a queue of people in the waiting room”.
