Vanessa Feltz says she was blindsided when her Channel 5 show was axed because she had 'no plan B' as she reflects on 'bossy men' telling her what to do throughout her career

Vanessa Feltz has said she felt blindsided when her Channel 5 show was axed because she had 'no plan B' as she recalled hearing the unexpected news.

The presenter, 64, was determined to embrace a new challenge by launching her new YouTube show, At Home With Vanessa. 

Vanessa also reflected on 'bossy men' telling her what to do throughout her 40-year career and said it was refreshing to start something on her own.

Speaking on Isabel Webster's New Chapters podcast, she said: 'It was a heck of a shock. I was just trying to continue to breathe, get myself out the door without falling over with the shock and I was very, very disappointed.

'And I thought, "Oh my God, I don't have a plan B. What am I doing next?" and I thought how about a show on YouTube.

'I did not think, how hard can it be? I thought it might be impossibly hard, but have a crack at it and try it.' 

She added: 'A tiny part of my brain thought, just imagine after a whole career, nearly 40 years and being bossed about by bossy bosses, most of whom I'd say 99.9% of them were male telling me what to do and also stamping on my good ideas which I know are good because I've been doing it for years.

'And I just thought imagine being able to broadcast about something you fancy. It was a germ of excitement alongside the terror and also the feeling of what nerve I've got of dreaming to do something like that.'

Vanessa admitted that the prospect of finally having complete creative freedom was both exciting and daunting, allowing her to make her own decisions after decades of working for other people.

She added: 'What I don't want to do is run some kind of vanity project where I'm paying to put myself on YouTube. I really don't want to do that.

'I don't want to get so kind of caught up in this and so excited, borderline deluded, and think the world needs to see me on YouTube and I need to pay them to see me. That I do not want to do.

'It's got to work and people have got to watch it otherwise I won't carry on doing it.'

Vanessa also discussed the extraordinary speed with which she embarked on her next chapter, creating a permanent filming studio in her own home in just weeks.

'It's my money on the line, at least some of it's my money on the line. So obviously I'm very concerned to make it work.'

Vanessa welcomed Kaye Adams as her first guest on her YouTube channel over the summer after her Channel 5 show was axed after just one year on air. 

A determined Vanessa told viewers in her final episode last month that she 'is not going to hide under a rock'.

The star then announced her new social media show which will be filmed at her home with her friends.

She wrote: 'Welcome to ‘At Home with Vanessa’ a brand spanking new show coming to YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and the universe in mid-August.

'Filmed at Feltz Towers - my real house, with my real chums, bottomless bagels and cocktails on tap, I’m hoping you’ll pop over to Vanessa Feltz on YouTube, subscribe for free, get on board and thoroughly enjoy the ride.'

The full interview with Vanessa is available now on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.