Louise Priest has been on screens for almost four decades
BBC presenter Louise Priest is leaving the corporation after almost four decades on the air.
The 62-year-old journalist, who is a familiar face to audiences of BBC Look East, said the impact of 4am starts on her home life was the main reason for her departure.
"I have been so lucky to have a variety of jobs at the BBC it never occurred to me to leave but, after almost 40 years, I felt the time was right.
"The impact of the 4am starts on my home life was the biggest factor," she told the BBC.
She added: "I feel I have made the right decision to go, but I'm also slightly nervous about life after the BBC."
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Louise, who hails from Loughborough, Leicestershire, joined the BBC in September 1983 and began her career at BBC Radio Guernsey before landing a job at BBC Radio Norfolk aged 23.
"So many things have changed over the years. The way newsrooms are staffed, the advances in technology and of course the digital/online world," she said.
Louise began presenting BBC Look East in 1987 for three years before having her two children, Clark and Grace. She then moved to Essex for two years with her husband's job and continued to work for the broadcaster.
Then in 1993, Louise and her family moved back to Norfolk, where she presented BBC Radio Norfolk's breakfast programme for six years.
Following an 18-month stint hosting the mid-morning show, she returned to BBC Look East as a programme planner and presenter.
Recalling the early days of her career, Louise told the BBC: "The early days were very different in terms of equipment. I remember hauling a very heavy 'mobile' phone around the Royal Norfolk Show in the 1980s and the radio recording equipment was so heavy - now it's all done on a smartphone."
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Louise said she has "no firm" plans for her future but is considering writing a book. "I'm not ready to put my feet up yet, so we shall see. Maybe I should write a book?" she said.
The BBC's senior head of content production for the East and London, Robert Thompson, said of her departure: "Louise is a BBC East legend and has worked across so many of our radio and TV programmes across the region.
"Most recently she’s been waking up the region on TV during BBC Breakfast and I know that many of our viewers will really miss her, as will we.
"On behalf of us all, thank you."
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