Kaye Adams has revealed that she wishes she had walked away from her BBC Radio Scotland programme before being removed from the role. The 63-year-old journalist had presented her weekday show for more than a decade before being taken off air during an investigation into misconduct allegations, which she strongly denied.
Reports in February confirmed that Adams would not return to the BBC. Reflecting on the experience, she said she now regrets allowing fear to stop her from leaving when she had already become unhappy in the job.
“I probably allowed myself to drift into 60 thinking that I could keep everything the same and actually, I should have made some decisions in that I was very unhappy where I was,” she said. “I should have left but I was scared and I kicked myself for that.”
Adams, who has been a familiar face on ITV’s Loose Women for years and appeared on the programme’s very first episode in 1999, made the admission during an appearance on Vanessa Feltz’s new YouTube series, At Home With Vanessa.
Feltz suggested that people following the recent developments in Adams’ career might have assumed she had been happy in her radio role and had not wanted to leave. She asked whether Adams was now saying she actually wished she had made the decision to walk away earlier.
Adams, a former Strictly Come Dancing contestant, confirmed that was the case but declined to discuss the circumstances in greater detail.
“Yeah, and you’re a great journalist, Vanessa, but unfortunately so am I. So I’m not going to say anything about that,” she replied. “But yes, that is the truth, and that has been my epiphany.”
In March, Kaye addressed the allegations publicly in a social media statement, strongly rejecting the claims surrounding her departure from BBC Scotland. She said she had initially tried to remain silent but felt compelled to respond after what she described as persistent attacks on her character.
Adams “categorically” denied using a misogynistic slur 14 years earlier, insisting it was not language she would have used. She also rejected claims that she had “berated an intern” and expressed disbelief over a separate allegation that she had thrown a pencil while alone in an empty studio.
Reflecting on her time with the broadcaster, Kaye said she was “heartbroken” that 15 years of work and commitment to BBC Scotland had become overshadowed by the allegations. She also thanked colleagues across the corporation, both junior and senior, who had contacted her with messages of support.
At the time, the BBC told BBC News that it treats any reports involving potential breaches of its values “extremely seriously” and has “robust processes” in place to investigate when necessary.
