TV presenter and journalist Stacey Dooley has cut down on assignments in “hostile environments” because of the way her outlook on life has changed now that she’s a mum to two-year-old daughter Minnie.

It wasn’t too long ago that Stacey admitted she’s “terrified” of death.

The Strictly Come Dancing champion – who won the show with boyfriend Kevin Clifton in 2018 – released a documentary entitled Inside The Undertakers with the BBC in November 2023. It explored the topic in depth.

And, since then, documentarian and journalist Stacey – on Saturday Kitchen this weekend (March 22) – has revealed she’s dialled down her intrepidness after becoming a mum.

Stacey Dooley on the BBC
Since she became a mum, Stacey’s taken a different approach to her working life (Credit: BBC Three/YouTube)

Stacey Dooley avoids dangerous jobs since welcoming daughter Minnie

Stacey is still committed to exploring challenging issues. A good example is her new two-part documentary Rape On Trial, which aired this week on the BBC.

But she told Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe – hosts of the Parenting Hell podcast – that since she became a mother, she’s opted for assignments in less “hostile environments”.

Having a baby has “definitely changed the type of gigs I’m saying yes to”, she said earlier this month. “I was doing a lot abroad and, often, it was in really sort of hostile environments and I loved it, I truly loved it.

“But I did that through all of my twenties and at the start of my thirties, and now it’s just very different priorities and if it doesn’t work for Minnie, then I can’t do it.”

Stacey Dooley in Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over
But that hasn’t stopped her from working on original and interesting projects (Credit: Origin/YouTube)

She’s turned into a hypochondriac because she’s so ‘desperate to stay alive’

When asked if she now considers her safety more, she responded: “Yeah, I could do with not [dying]. I could do with being around.”

She added: “I have to be around a lot more. Actually, I’ve turned into a bit of a hypochondriac since having the baby, because I’m so desperate to stay alive for as long as possible, yeah it’s wild.”

Hypochondriacs are abnormally anxious about their health. It’s a type of anxiety disorder. However, people often use the word in a more general sense to mean that they frequently worry about falling sick.

On the subject of parenthood, Stacey Dooley has been busy. Her new book Dear Minnie: Conversations with Remarkable Mothers came out on March 13.