Fiona PhillipsFiona Phillips has announced she’s leaving GMTV after 12 years on the sofa to spend more time with her growing family.

Leaving in the middle of her £1.5million three-year contract, Fiona will lose out on around £500,000 guaranteed pay when she leaves in December but she told the show’s producers that she could no longer juggle the breakfast programme’s awkward hours and bringing up her two sons, nine year old Nat and six year old Mackenzie.

Fiona, who is married to programme editor Martin Frizell, joined the show in 1993 as an entertainment correspondent and became the main presenter in 1996. Her £1.5million deal already gave her a four day week and school & bank holidays off, but an inside source told the Mirror that wasn’t enough: “Fiona has devoted her life to GMTV for the past 15 years and started feeling it was time to move on.

“She has recently been saying that 12 years of getting up at 4am is quite enough, and she wants to be full of energy for her children while they’re young, instead of feeling shattered all the time.

“She appreciates it might appear a bit bonkers to walk away, but the summer break gave her time to reach a decision and she feels the time is right.

“There are other opportunities in television she has turned down in the past because of her commitment to GMTV. Now she will be able to do other projects.”