Phillips "feels sick" over 'GMTV' departure

Fiona Phillips has admitted that she "feels sick" after announcing her decision to quit GMTV.

The 47-year-old host has anchored the breakfast show for the past 12 years, but plans to bow out in December to spend more time with her family.

Writing in The Mirror today, Phillips revealed: "As I write this I actually feel physically sick. My decision to leave GMTV after 12 years on the sofa is the hardest I have ever had to make - like jumping off a cliff and hoping someone will save me halfway down. And yet hoping they won't."

Phillips confirmed that her decision was mainly influenced by her two young sons, who cannot understand why she spends so much time away from them.

"I love my job. I worked hard for years to get it, I'm lucky to have it, but in the scheme of things it means nothing when life feels as though it's passing by and I'm not on the journey," she explained. "The children ask every night: 'Are you working tomorrow?' If I say yes they groan, if I say no they shout 'Yay!' and deal out high-fives all round.

"They love my on-air partner Ben Shephard - as do I - but they can't understand why I'd rather go in and chat to him than be with them. 'Why do you have to go and sit on that sofa and just talk to other people when you could be taking us to school?' they ask. They're right."