BBC News presenter Clive Myrie opens up about secret long-standing health issue
Television presenter Clive Myrie has spoken out about a health condition that he’s suffered from “for years”.
The journalist, presenter and newsreader has told of how the condition has impacted on his love of travelling. The 59-year-old, who will celebrate his milestone 60th birthday in August, likes to see different parts of the world with his wife Catherine.
His illness has often taken a lot of joy out of this for him, however. The BBC correspondent, who has reported from war zones like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine, said that he suffers from travel sickness.
Speaking with Holly Rubenstein on The Travel Diaries The Travel Diaries podcast, he explained: "It's less so in planes now, more in cars, but I was just sick all the time on that flight from the UK to Kingston in Jamaica.
“Then we had cross-country journeys on long bumpy roads to see cousins and other relatives. I was just throwing up the whole time there. So it wasn't the most wonderful travel experience, it must be said."
Myrie’s parents were part of the Windrush generation who migrated from Jamaica to Bolton, Great Manchester, after the war. He was born and raised in Lancashire along with his younger siblings, but returned to his parents’ home nation in the Caribbean when he was around 10 years old.
He revealed that when he was young he would constantly complain about being "too hot" and being "bitten by mosquitoes" when he visited the captial city of Kingston with his parents.
Myrie first joined the BBC in 1987 as a trainee local radio reporter. Nine years later, he became a BBC foreign correspondent. His career blossomed and, in 2019, Myrie began presenting the BBC News at Six and BBC News at Ten on alternate Fridays. He now presents the BBC News at Ten on Fridays.
Since August 2021, he has also hosted the flagship BBC Two quiz show Mastermind and its BBC One spin-off show Celebrity Mastermind. In May, he fronted the travel programme Clive Myrie's Caribbean Adventure.
The show shows Myrie visit Cuba, the Dominican Republic and more. He said in the show: "I can't wait to share my journey and the beauty of the Caribbean a place I'm proud to call my ancestral home.
"It's been such an amazing experience exploring this lush part of the world and I've loved discovering more about the communities and traditions behind each place. I hope viewers enjoy the incredible landscapes and people who make-up this slice of paradise."