BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin is quitting social media

BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin has revealed that she is taking a step back from social media because of online trolls.

The 51-year-old said the move had been ‘a long time coming’ and that she has ‘had enough’.

Discussing her decision to move away from websites such as Twitter and Facebook, Mrs Minchin said: ‘I am not alone, there are plenty of others.’ 

She added: ‘You might think I am oversensitive (I probably am), and need to grow a thicker skin (I probably do), but the truth is I can read a hundred nice comments about me but it will be the nasty one I will remember, try as I might to shrug it off.

‘Recently the level of acrimony on social media reached unnerving levels, with people constantly shouting at each other, whipping up outrage and throwing around wild assumptions. 

The 51-year-old (right) said the move had been ‘a long time coming’ and that she has ‘had enough’

‘I realised, I had had enough of reading it and being drawn into the cycle of negativity.’

The mother-of-two, who has been a regular presenter on the BBC1 morning programme since 2006, wrote in Cheshire Life magazine that by spending less time on the websites she feels the world is a ‘kinder place’ and insisted it has allowed her to spend her time doing things she would not otherwise have time to do. 

‘The upsides have been surprising,’ she said.

‘I have time to do other things I have been wanting to do for ages.

‘Reading books, watching box-sets and actually using my mobile to speak to my friends and family – it’s much better than falling into a rabbit hole of darkness.’