Broadcaster Jenni Falconer looks back on 30 years in the industry

Smooth radio breakfast host Jenni Falconer has big morning-person energy.

She is naturally bright and punchy, and her pragmatic can-do attitude is infectious. Speaking to her makes me want to actually tackle my to-do list, rather than procrastinating like I normally would.

She seems like she was born to be a breakfast radio host, her positive vibes helping people get out of bed in the morning, but a career on the airwaves wasn’t always on the cards.

In fact, if it wasn’t for an impulsive decision to audition for Blind Date, she might never have ended up in the media at all.

‘You should always be bold and adventurous’

Jenni explained: “A few of us decided to go to an audition for Blind Date after school – I was 18 at the time. I got a callback asking me to be a picker, and it was such an incredible experience. I just loved it and I said to the people who worked there that I would love to work in television – and they literally laughed in my face! They said it’s not possible unless you go and do tons of work experience, so I was like, ‘Fine, that’s what I’ll do!’.

“I was at Leeds University and I started doing work experience at the BBC on weekends, and when Blind Date went out, they interviewed me on air, and in the interview I said, ‘I’d really like to work in television’. And someone from BBC Scotland was listening and decided to give me an audition. It was a real sliding doors moment.”

Jenni’s success has always been part luck and part her own plucky gumption. When she thinks back on her 30-year career, she puts her success down to taking big leaps, even if she didn’t know where she was going to land. She said: “I left university to work at BBC Scotland, and at the time I didn’t know if it was the right decision. But I think you should never be shy to try a new experience.

“I think you should always be bold and adventurous. The worst thing that can happen is that it doesn’t work out, and at least you’ve got a story to tell and the experience to guide you in your next life choice. I haven’t always gotten the jobs I’ve gone for, but some jobs have taken me in a completely new direction with my career. I think, definitely in freelance careers, you need to be fluid and try new things.”

Fitness routines

Jenni, 48, has bundles of energy, and it’s no surprise to find out she’s also a keen athlete and runner, having completed nine marathons so far. She has written a book about running, Runner’s High, and hosts RunPod, an interview podcast where she chats to celebs about their running journeys. After our conversation, she is heading home to interview Dermot O’Leary about his half-marathon training.

When I ask her how she fits it all in, Jenni’s answer is simple but motivating: “You’ll never regret getting up and doing it. There’s times when I put things off and have a gazillion cups of tea because the hardest thing is getting out the door. Don’t regret not getting up and doing what you have to do. If you get into a routine and get on with it, you’ll be pleased that you did it!”

When we chat about staying fit in winter, Jenni passionately argued that winter is her favourite time of year to work out.

She said: “It’s easy to get up and be outside in summer, but winter can make us feel like we want to slow down. Being active during these months can turn that around and make you feel amazing. All you need to do is put some extra layers on and remember skin is waterproof. Make yourself sweat so much that when you get home you think, ‘Oh, I’m quite hot!’ The hardest part is always getting out the door. Push yourself out of your comfort zone, because it’s not a challenge if it’s easy.”

Jenni Falconer has teamed up with FUEL10K.

Still, even Jenni has had to come up with some clever tricks to force her to stick to her training on dreary days. “I’ll come to work wearing my workout clothes. That way I have to run home even if it’s raining outside! But it’s fine once you get going. And I know that at least I’m running towards a shower at the end of it,” she laughed.

Her fitness and breakfast radio credentials made her recent collaboration with healthy breakfast brand FUEL10K a natural fit. Jenni is acting as an ambassador for FUEL10K’s Fuel a Breakfast campaign with food poverty charity FairShare in a bid to help fight food insecurity this winter. For every pot or box of FUEL10K porridge purchased throughout October, FUEL10K will donate a porridge breakfast to FareShare.

“I think they already knew I was a fan, we always have FUEL10K porridge pots in our house,” said Jenni. “When this project came along it was a no-brainer to get involved. It breaks my heart to hear about children who are malnourished and don’t even have the energy to get through school. It’s something I’m really passionate about, and it’s great that this campaign will help others. I really wanted to get involved and do something to help and raise awareness.”

No-one knows better the importance of a good breakfast than Jenni. “Your stomach rumbling on live radio is not what anyone wants to hear,” she joked.

“I wouldn’t be able to do all the running around I do if I wasn’t eating something good to fuel me.

“Also, there’s so much stuff aimed at young people, and it’s good to know my daughter is eating something healthy like porridge for breakfast.”

Family and career

Jenni’s daughter, Ella, turned 13 this year. Despite her young age, she’s proving to be just as active as her mum and has recently taken up golf, a favourite sport in their family. She’s even turning out to be quite good at it. Jenni said: “It’s lovely for us that she likes golf, she’s got her own golf clubs now.

“She goes to lessons every week with her friend, although I’ve seen evidence that sometimes there’s more TikTok dancing than golf going on! But she comes out and plays with us when we’re back up in Scotland visiting my parents.

“The last time we went up, she teed off and out-drove my mum, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s amazing!’.”

Jenni is celebrating 30 years in the entertainment industry this year and, looking back, she can’t quite believe all she has achieved. Despite many ups and downs, she wouldn’t change her career path for the world.

She said: “Every person that I have met had a different path into the television and media industry. Sometimes it’s unusual, and sometimes it’s a hard slog, and I was lucky a break for me came quite quickly. It’s a tough industry sometimes, but my goodness, I’ve loved every minute of it! Every show, every opportunity. It’s been a dream, and I would never have predicted where it would take me.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next!”

‘I dress in the dark at 4am’

Jenni’s Instagram feed is full of shots of her wearing gorgeous outfits, be it sleek jumpsuits or ultra-chic mini dresses. Despite this, she claims not to be a fashionista.

“I get up at 4am six days a week to be on the radio – I usually get dressed in the dark!

I’m always fumbling around with my phone torch grabbing stuff out of drawers, trying not to wake my other half up. But sometimes I’m lucky and the outfit actually works.”

When we spoke, Jenni had recently wrapped up her morning breakfast show and was sporting an all-black running ensemble, allowing her to jog home when she finished her day at the office.

“75% of the time I’m in running kits, so when I actually wear normal clothes to the office, I try to plan it out the night before, otherwise I don’t know what I’d turn up like,” she said.

“I’m not sure where I get my fashion inspiration from, I don’t have any stylists or anything. My daughter now quite often tells me my skirt is too short. She’ll say, ‘put your arms in the air’ and then when I do it she says, ‘no, that skirt is too short, take it off’.

“So, I’m being disciplined by my 13-year-old daughter over my fashion choices!”