Jake Humphrey is a self confessed catastrophiser. Here the former BBC F1 anchor, popular podcast host, and author of new book Game Plan, tells the Mirror how he copes with anxiety
Jake Humphrey presents the hugely successful High Performance podcast with Professor Damian Hughes, and is the author of new book Game Plan(Image: David Cummings)
Presenting Formula One might sound an odd choice of job for a self-confessed “catastrophiser,” but anxiety follows Jake Humphrey wherever he goes. Imposter syndrome also plagues the former BBC F1 anchor, who now presents the hugely successful High Performance podcast with Professor Damian Hughes.
He says: “I had major anxiety when I first started on CBBC 25 years ago. Men particularly don’t talk often enough about anxiety. I still suffer from anxiety. I’m a catastrophiser, every single day. The worst outcome, worst case scenario is the way that my brain thinks all the time. I still have fear, still have anxiety, still have imposter syndrome – still think it could all end tomorrow. But now, my two anxieties really revolve around health and kids. I still don’t like my kids being out of my sight. Play in the woods, forget it?”
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Jake, 47, lives in Norfolk with his wife, Harriet – a former production manager who now dedicates her time to the family and helps out with the High Performance Foundation – and their children, Florence, 13, and Seb, 10. The family moved to the countryside after Jake left his role presenting F1 for BBC One – which he did from 2009-2012 – and joined BT Sport to front their football coverage.
He explains his health anxiety: “My mum and dad laugh about the fact that I was always volunteering to take myself to the doctor when I was like 16 to get stuff checked out. It’s a permanent fear. Now, the difference is that my fear is over the children’s health. My son has a headache, worst case scenario. My daughter comes home with a cough, worst-case scenario. This outbreak of meningitis at the moment. Every parent in the country is panicking. Do you seal your kids off? Do you get them vaccinated? Do you move and live on an island in the middle of nowhere where nothing can possibly come and get them?”
His anxiety was so bad that he nearly quit his F1 job before his first broadcast. He says: “I went to China and Steve Rider was the host for ITV. I saw him standing in the pit lane and it was just him, one floor manager holding a monitor that Steve was looking at and one pundit – live on ITV across the UK. A Formula 1 car was driving right next to him, a huge grandstand of about 200,000 people right there. It was loud, it was hot, and I’d just been given the job. I stood there and I looked at Steve and I thought, ‘I need to quit before I even begin. There’s no way that my ability as a TV presenter can handle hosting Formula One.’ I had hardcore imposter syndrome. But, thankfully, I didn’t go and hand in my notice. I went for it and gave it a go and it turned out okay.”
Jake left F1 when his daughter was born. He explains: “Florence was born the week of the first Grand Prix of the season and my employer at the time wouldn’t allow me to miss the first race. How do you make the decision to not be with your wife on the day your first child is born? That’s like lifetime regret stuff. The decision had to be taken.”
But the transition from F1 to full time dad was difficult. He says: “I remember watching those first few races with Florence. I was like the happiest guy in the world because I had a baby. But I was watching my former colleagues traveling the world, creating great content and life carries on without you.” Jake joined BT Sport at the start of the 2013/2014 season, as the face of BT Sports Premier League coverage, going on to front their Champions League fixtures until 2023.
Cruelly bullied at school, after moving to Norwich, aged eight, for his dad’s job, Jake – who was once pushed into the corridor naked after a swimming lesson – says online abuse he received while working with BT Sport triggered the same hurt emotions he felt as a child. Recalling his unhappy schooldays, he says: “I had zero friends, it was total loneliness. At lunchtime I’d hide in the car park between two school buses, because that was better than being bullied. It was physical, mental and general humiliation. Getting changed after swimming once, the lads grabbed me before I got my pants on and pushed me into the playground. I stood there with my hand over my k***, the other over my bum with every kid laughing at me. That stuff never leaves you.”
In adult life, online trolling like that he endured as a face of BT Sport’s football coverage evoked the same feelings of hurt. Jake, who left when BT Sport was rebranded as TNT Sports, says: “For someone to think I’m not very good at my job is fine, but some of it strayed into bullying territory.” Unlikely to return to broadcasting after the online hate he received, he says: “It would have to be something really interesting to tempt me back.”
Now his High Performance podcast provides an intimate glimpse into the lives of high-achieving individuals and discusses the secrets of their success. He is also the author of several bestselling coaching books, the latest of which, Game Plan, a handbook for teens facing issues like imposter syndrome, is out now.
Also owner of the production company, Whisper, he says of working to educate kids: “I entertained them in the 2000s and now I really hope that I can help them in the 2020s and beyond.“ He is also acutely aware of the “manosphere”, a concerning collection of websites, blogs, and online forums promoting masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism.
The subject of Louis Theroux’s recent Netflix documentary, Jake says: “There are some very toxic influences and they’re influencing the minds of young men, especially, at an age when those young men are most easily influenced. What Louis Theroux did was great. He exposed those male ‘role models’ for what they really are, which is just grifters trying to sell a course. They influence the lost and the broken and the confused and the fearful.”
Stressing the need to help young men, he continues: “We have young men floating past in the river. We can’t just let them float by and let them drown. We need to pull them out. But more importantly than pulling them out, we need to go back up the river and find out why they’re falling in in the first place. There’s a reason why some young men, not all young men by any stretch, are being attracted to these messages. But when we talk about toxic masculinity, we have to be really careful that we’re not using that to be critical of all young men, because most young men are incredible.”
Jake is also calling on Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to help young people by following Australia in banning social media for under 16s. He says: “All the evidence tells us that if you want to damage a young person’s mental health as early as possible, allow them to go onto social media and compare themselves to everybody else. I think parents need help from the government. We’re up against companies from Silicon Valley spending billions of pounds to keep us online as much as possible. How are we ever expected to try and win this battle against social media companies without some regulation, without some help?”
Together with wife Harriet, they have a no social media policy for their teenager at home. Family is crucially important to Jake as he has realised his brings him far more joy than fame ever has. He says: “I thought that all of my joy and happiness came from being a TV presenter and having some fame and social media followers and success. But my happiness comes from chatting to the kids on the way to school, watching Florence in her dance competitions, cheering on Seb from the sidelines, playing football, going for a dog walk with Harry and my wife. That is, for me, that’s where happiness sits.”
*Game Plan by Jake Humphrey, Damian Hughes and Oscar Miller is out now, DK Children’s RRP £14.99
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
