Joanna Page has revealed her plans to quit acting and her TV hosting roles and retrain as a sex therapist in a career shakeup.
The Gavin And Stacey star, 48, has firmly established a solo hosting career for herself on the BBC.
She has her own wildlife programme, fittingly titled Joanna Page’s Wild Life, which airs on BBC Two and sees her become a rescue volunteer, tending to vulnerable animals.
Joanna is also set to present a new show for the broadcaster, billed as Shift The Thrift, which will see contestants go head-to-head to uncover charity shop gems and sell them for a profit.
While the mum-of-four enjoys ‘being herself’ on TV, she has now admitted her eventual plans are to relocate to the countryside and train as a sex therapist.
Joanna explained: ‘Presenting means I can just be myself, meet fascinating people and do things I wouldn’t normally do.
Joanna Page has revealed her plans to quit acting and her TV hosting roles and retrain as a sex therapist in a career shakeup
The Gavin And Stacey star, 48, has firmly established a solo hosting career for herself on the BBC, presenting numerous shows including her own wildlife programme
Joanna is best known for her role as Stacey in the smash-hit BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey which came to a conclusion last Christmas (pictured in 2008)
‘It fits much better with family life than going away for months at a time acting.
‘I don’t have to learn lines or put on costumes, I just turn up and dive in.’
She continued to Woman magazine: ‘Eventually, I’d like to move to the countryside, get more animals and restart my greenhouse and vegetable patches.
‘I’d also like to train as a sex therapist, it’s something I’ve wanted to do for years.
‘On top of that I want to get back into yoga and generally make more time for myself.’
Just days ago Joanna revealed she still experiences sexual bullying on set at 48.
Speaking to Daily Mail columnist Bryony Gordon, the Welsh actress said sexual misconduct toward women in the industry remains common and explained why it is so difficult, particularly for younger performers, to speak out.
Joanna pointed to ‘huge power imbalances’ that make calling out inappropriate behaviour nearly impossible, even today.
While the mum-of-four enjoys ‘being herself’ on TV, she has now admitted her eventual plans are to relocate to the countryside and train as a sex therapist
Joanna told Woman magazine that retraining as a sex therapist is ‘something I’ve wanted to do for years’ (pictured in 2020)
Despite describing herself as ‘quite b****sy’, she recounted two incidents early in her career where the sexual bullying was so extreme it rendered her speechless.
Page made the claims while appearing on The Life of Bryony podcast to promote her new memoir, ‘Lush! My Story – From Swansea to Stacey and Everything in Between’.
‘I can always speak up for myself, but there have been moments where I’ve gone completely mute’, Page said.
‘There was a time working with one actor in the theatre, and oh my God, he was so full on and degrading in the language he used towards me.
‘I told him that nothing was going to happen between us and the way he dealt with that was by being so derogatory.
‘Then, on a different job – I had a scene with this fellow, just me and him. The sexual language he used… it was so awful, it wasn’t banter.
‘I remember calling the producers and saying: ‘I think I have been sexually bullied.’
While acknowledging woman have ‘more control’ now from when she first started her career, she said she still faces ‘uncomfortable’ incidents on set.
Heartbreakingly, Joanna still refuses to report these incidents, fearing it would damage her career and make her ‘incredibly difficult’ to work with on set.
Joanna also hosted a travelogue series around Wales with pal Wynne Evans, though it was axed after just one series amid disgraced star Wynne’s scandals
She said: ‘I still think this industry is so floaty and all over the place. It’s run by men with money.
‘I have been on jobs at this age, where uncomfortable things are going on – you know, ways you are spoken to.
‘If I call that number on the call sheet – what is actually going to happen? The next day, you turn up and has that person just disappeared?
‘Then everybody knows: you become the person responsible for them going and that’s quite a frightening thing to take on board.
‘Directors have come up to me and said: ‘Look, do you want me to have a word?’
‘I just go no, absolutely not. That will make it really difficult for me work wise. I’ll sort it out myself out now – and that’s recently, like now.’
