BBC presenter Fearne Cotton has talked candidly about her mental health, and she told an anecdote about how she had a panic attack while covering for Lorraine Kelly11:14, 08 Jul 2026Presenter Fearne Cotton admitted she had a panic attack while covering for Lorraine Kelly - and "the attacks were so bad she couldn't drive on the motorway for four years".‌Fearne got her big break at the BBC in her early 20s working on children's programmes such as The Saturday Show and Smile. She would then present Top of the Pops for a staggering 16 years while also hosting various shows on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2.‌Things seemed to be going swimmingly for Fearne, but behind the scenes it was a very different story.‌She has spoken candidly about mental health battles, openly documenting her struggles with depression, anxiety, OCD and bulimia.Fearne has written books about the topic alongside her hugely successful Happy Place podcast.Speaking to BBC colleague Vernon Kay on his Radio 2 show, the 44-year-old told how she had a panic attack while covering for Lorraine.‌She said: "I remember covering for Lorraine and literally having a panic attack as I was speaking."I look completely normal, or maybe I looked slightly like a deer in the headlights. But inside I am spiralling, literally like floating out of my skin, I don't feel like I'm grounded, the pits."‌Fearne then went on to say that her panic attacks became so bad that she couldn't even drive on the motorway for four years.She said: "I couldn't drive on the motorway for many years, I can do that now."I was having multiple panic attacks a day, it could be 10 a day. Getting on a motorway, it was an absolute no go. I had one panic attack on the motorway and I had to get the AA to drive me home.‌"And then I tried again the next week and I pulled over on the hard shoulder straight away. I had to get off that motorway. So for four years I didn't drive on one."Fearne added that after going public with her motorway issue many other people contacted her saying they were suffering from the same blocker.‌The radio and TV presenter admitted that she had "a terrible time" with her mental health during her 20s and 30s which sparked her departure from Radio 1.She said: "I went through a terrible time with mental health in my late 20s, early 30s. The press stuff was awful, the pressure of being on air. Mental health was not really talked about, in the workplace. It wasn't mentioned at all.‌"I dealt with it all in my own head. I didn't tell anyone, not my producer, not anyone, that I was on the brink of this not being OK. I took medication and went to work every day and I felt dreadful for most of that period."Vernon then apologised because he had "no idea" what she was going through, before Fearne added: "I didn't say anything, you just cracked on. I think that's where the paranoia comes in, so I had a really rough time early 30s."I left Radio 1 when I was 34, maybe 33, because everything imploded for me. I didn't understand why I was doing this. That was like back to basics.Article continues below"I didn't feel like I had a choice if I'm really honest."