Kirsty Young delights fans with return to BBC for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee coverage after illness: ‘Total class’-Louise Griffin-Entertainment – Metro

Kirsty Young was widely praised for her return (Picture: BBC)

BBC viewers have praised the return of Kirsty Young after the iconic presenter took time away due to illness.

Fans are absolutely delighted to see her back after she stepped back from hosting Desert Island Discs in 2018 due to Fibromyalgia.

Kirsty, 53, is hosting the coverage of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on the BBC, interviewing stars including David Dimbleby, Dame Darcey Bussell and Dame Maureen Lipman about their experiences with the monarch as she celebrates 70 years on the throne.

‘#KirstyYoung Oh how we have missed you, so good to see you back. Stellar performance as ever, total class,’ one wrote.

Another added: ‘#kirstyyoung brilliant. Just brilliantly brilliant. That’s it.’

‘Fab to see Kirsty Young back on air as a presenter on Platinum Jubilee events. Excellent job! @BBC #PlatinumJubilee,’ one more said.

‘Great to see and hear the calm, measured presenting of #KirstyYoung on @BBCOne #PlatinumJubilee,’ one more said.

On Thursday evening, the presenter also hosted Platinum Beacons: Lighting up the Jubilee, BBC One’s live coverage of the lighting of more than 1,500 beacons to celebrate the Queen’s 70-year reign.

Kirsty is one of the most recognisable presenters and voices in the UK, having been active on television since the early 1990s.

Kirsty stepped back from Desert Island Discs in 2018 (Picture: Getty Images)

Kirsty’s career has spanned decades (Picture: Getty Images)

She’s notably fronted BBC’s Crimewatch and Radio 4’s beloved series Desert Island Discs, and was at the helm of Channel 5 News in the 1990s and 2000s.

The presenter took a break from Desert Island Discs in 2018, before Lauren Laverne took over permanently, and she stepped away the following year due to illness.

Kirsty announced she would be stepping down from Desert Island Discs ’for a number of months’ to receive treatment for a form of fibromyalgia back in 2018.

Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes pain all over the body. Those who suffer from the chronic illness have widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues.

She was also diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2018.

More: BBC

In July 2019, she announced that she was to stand down as the host saying: ‘Having been forced to take some months away from my favourite job because of health problems, I’m happy to say I’m now well on the way to feeling much better. 

‘But that enforced absence from the show has altered my perspective on what I should do next and so I’ve decided it’s time to pursue new challenges.’

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee coverage continues on BBC this morning.

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