A popular former BBC South East Today presenter has revealed the devastating setback which ended her career in front of the camera.

Polly Evans was a familiar face on the regional news slot alongside Rob Smith who together anchored the programme from 2009 to 2017, when she was forced to take a step back.

Now she has spoken of the reasons why her presenting career came to an abrupt halt - she lost her voice due to an infection which triggered a neurological "tick".

Mrs Evans, a mum-of-two, who used to work from the BBC's Tunbridge Wells offices, has now spoken publicly about the issue in a blog on her Linkedin page and how she had to "re-invent" herself.

"I was presenting on live television, but when I opened my mouth to speak nothing came out," she says. "Sounds like the stuff of nightmares, but it’s a true story.

"I was a news anchor on a successful show. I thought I was going places. But I got a cough which turned into suspected bronchitis.

"Nothing worked. Not a quadruple dose of vitamin C, not a single home remedy or three courses of antibiotics. It broke my voice."

She says the infection that caused the cough triggered a neurological tick and a type of Dysphonia - the same condition which affected country singer Shania Twain's voice.

"It left me struggling to say certain sounds, like eeee and eh - tricky when your surname is Evans, and you have to say it out loud on TV every day," she writes.

"My voice became strained and hoarse. Sometimes it was whispery, sometimes nothing would come out at all.

"I went from TV news reporter and anchor to a woman without a voice. Nearly two decades of broadcasting scuppered by a cough.

"I thought my career might vanish along with my voice. It was humiliating, yes, but for the most part I panicked about paying the bills and letting my partner and kids down.

"But from the depths I summoned up enough clarity to realise I needed to take a different path.

She decided to come off air and "up-skill" as an output editor, working behind the scenes.

"I was fortunate that I could take advantage of in-house training and over the next year I did just that, signing up to the BBC leadership programme," Mrs Evans says.

She also reached out to her friends, former colleagues and professional contacts.

"I looked at logical career pathways for me as a trained journalist and developed a strategy from there," she says.

"I also calmed down, after being convinced that stress and the pressure to succeed in a challenging environment had contributed to my ill health."

Mrs Evans says she spent more quality time with her family and going for walks in the countryside, without her mobile phone.

"I spent time in nature and caught up with old friends," she adds.

"Ultimately, I was able to find my voice again with the help of some wonderful and supportive specialists. It's different, but it's there.

"My career has been altered completely and I no longer place the same importance on succeeding within the narrow confines of a particular ‘role’."

Her candid revelations prompted almost 90 comments of support to her blog, many praising her courage and determination to fight on and carve new opportunities.

After 20 years at the BBC, Mrs Evans went on to work for the charity The Access Project and is now an executive producer with GB News.