She is one of the most recognisable faces on British TV, having delivered the nation's biggest stories from Hillsborough to the Padding train crash.
But behind the cameras, life for newsreader Sian Williams was far more turbulent than viewers ever realised.
As extreme anxiety and self-doubt began to take hold, the pressure of the spotlight became increasingly difficult to bear.
In 2021, she made a life-changing decision to walk away from the successful on-screen career she had built over 30 years.
In a remarkable reinvention, she retrained as a charted counselling psychologist, determined to understand the very issues that had upended her own life.
Having swapped the bright lights of the studio for relaxing country walks and training to help others, Sian, 61, has found contentment.
This week, Sian, 61, revealed severe anxiety was one of the reasons why she went on to change professions (pictured on BBC Breakfast with Dermot Murnaghan in 2005)
Having swapped the bright lights of the news studio for relaxing country walks and training to help others, Sian has found contentment
Sian now has a thriving private practice, where she offers consultancy, workshops, group and individual therapy.
She is a senior specialist psychological therapist at the Centre for Anxiety, Stress and Trauma at the NHS, where she helps emergency service staff recover from work-related traumatic events.
The former anchor has a doctorate in counselling psychology awarded by City University of London and an MSc in psychology from Westminster University.
In 2023, Prince William attended her event for first responders to listen to their mental health concerns.
She is a regular host of the annual Emergency Services Mental Health Symposium, which is supported by the Royal Foundation.
Sian has become a keynote speaker and has hosted major events for Google, the British Psychological Society, the BBC, ITV, ITN, King's College London, and more.
Her first book Rise: Surviving and Thriving after Trauma was published in June 2016.
Her next book The Power of Anxiety: How to Ride the Worry Wave is set to be released next month.
It will focus on how people can turn towards anxiety, accept it, and work with it.
She still continues to work as a broadcaster, albeit in a much more low-key setting, hosting Life Changing on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3 Unwind on BBC Sounds.
This week, Sian revealed how the experience of her severe anxiety getting out of control was one of the reasons why she went on to change professions.
She told The Times: 'I also thought, I hope nobody ever, ever finds out about this - I mustn't tell anyone.'
The mother-of-four, who's now a 'Dr', added: 'It can be hard to reveal yourself to other people when you think you've failed in case that's the end for you.'
'I think I would absolutely be much kinder to myself now.'
Sian detailed how she once fainted while presenting live at an important royal occasion attended by then-Prince Charles and his two sons Prince William and Prince Harry.
The journalist was leading the coverage of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London's Hyde Park in 2004.
Sian explained how she had been forced to fill time while waiting for the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II, to arrive.
But after running out of things to say on camera, her stress levels spiked, causing her vision to become blurred.
She then collapsed to the ground before coming round after a few minutes.
She recalled: 'I thought, get off the floor, get back on the stool. Do the job that you're here to do, Sian, because there are millions of people watching.'
After working at the BBC for 11 years she left for a role at ITN and Channel 5 as the main News at 5 anchor, which she departed in 2022.
Sian was also forced to think about how she wanted her life to look in 2014 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She had a double mastectomy and when she woke up from reconstructive surgery was told that her heart had stopped on the operating table.
In an interview with Woman & Home at the time, Sian said her 'biggest fear' of her illness 'was not being there as a mum'.
The mother-of-four has a 19-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter with husband Paul Woolwich, as well as two older sons, 32 and 27, from a previous marriage
'For some unfathomable reason I couldn't stop thinking that I want to be here for my daughter Evie to watch her get married,' she said in the interview.
She added: 'My aunt died of breast cancer, and I'd lost my mum to liver and bowel cancer - and I gradually began to realise how bewildered and scared I was.'
Sian was also forced to think about how she wanted her life to look in 2014 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is now in remission after a double mastectomy
The former anchor said she went to great lengths to keep her cancer secret, adding: 'Nobody knew I'd had the operation apart from the children's teacher.'
She is now in remission.
In 2024, Sian celebrated her 60th birthday with a gushing post about her profound sense of gratitude as she reflected on her cancer journey.
She said: 'I'm 60 today. And, honestly, the best gift is a profound sense of gratitude - acknowledging that - but for the care and expertise of the NHS cancer team - I wouldn't have made it.
'This time a decade ago I was preparing for a double mastectomy and fearful for the future. Bl*y hell - I'm lucky. Love to everyone xx.'