Order videos

Hello from the other side

​Working on BBC Radio Manchester, ​Stephanie Hirst talks through what it's like being one of the only transgender broadcasters on the air. ​

Stephanie ​knew two things growing up, she wasn’t a boy and she wanted to work in radio. Having reached ​a career high​,​ presenting the biggest out of London breakfast show in the UK, Stephanie found herself needing to address the unhappiness still having to live as a man.

​'​Authenticity is important in radio​'​, and as Simon, Stephanie would share most elements of her life, apart from ​the​ huge part of her life she had always hidden away.

Referring playfully to the process as ‘the lady garden installation’​, Stephanie feels there are highs and lows of being a women. She gets treated differently and even feels differently herself. The biggest laugh of the session came as Stephanie share​d​ her excitement getting to lose her virginity all over again.

The freedom of being able to exist in her new and real self, paired with being back on air, means she’s now the happiest she’s ever been. ‘If I can grow tits in public ​, then ​you can have a little more courage’

Three things we learnt from Stephanie Hirst at #RDE16: 1) Stephanie ​knew two things growing up, she wasn’t a boy and she wanted to work in radio 2) Stephanie does not hide anything on air 3) The freedom of being able to exist in her new and real self, paired with being back on air, means Stephanie's now the happiest she’s ever been . . . . . . . . . #RDE17 #RadiodaysEurope #Trans #Transgender #Broadcasting

A post shared by Radiodays Europe (@radiodayseurope) on