Newsnight host and Dragons’ Den presenter Evan Davis says hiding his sexuality at work was a 'terrible mistake'

'Hiding gaping great bits of your life at work is just tiring - I’ve been there - and it’s just not worth it'

The long-running BBC presenter talks openly about his personal experiences of coming out in the public domain (Rex Features)

The Dragons’ Den presenter and Newsnight host Evan Davis has said it was a “terrible mistake” keeping his sexuality a secret for so long.

In a promotional video for Student Pride, the 53-year-old BBC journalist spoke candidly about his experience of publicly coming out.

“My experience was in my earliest jobs – it wasn’t that I wanted to lie to people, and it wasn’t that I was embarrassed about being gay, but I just wasn’t public about it.

“I’ve tried never to lie, but equally it was just constantly thinking about what you were saying, and treading on eggshells. I think it was a terrible mistake. It was hard work.”

Davis also said it was important to be upfront about sexuality for mental health reasons.

“The issues of good mental health and being authentic and being true and comfortable with yourself are inextricably linked so I think it’s much easier to have a sound, comfortable mind when you’re one person and you know what that person is and you’re comfortable with it”.

Before joining the BBC as economics corespondent in 1993, Davis worked as an economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Since then, he has gone on to present BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and is now a host on Dragons’ Den, Newsnight and The Bottom Line.

Speaking to R U Coming Out, an LGBT charity back in March 2013, the Surrey-born presenter said it wasn’t until he joined Newsnight in the late 90s that he came out.

“It was around the time I joined Newsnight in 1997/1998 that I decided I should definitely be publicly gay.

“It wasn't a courageous choice, it just felt to me that it was going to be slightly better for me to control the process of coming out by being up-front about it. The climate was always going to be very favourable for me. I never expected any kind of backlash.”

Giving advice to young people who will be attending Student Pride, Davis encouraged them to be open about their sexuality.

“I just can’t stress enough, trying to be something that you're not, or hiding gaping great bits of your life at work is just tiring - I’ve been there - and it’s just not worth it if you can avoid it”.

Davis came clean with his family about his sexuality one Christmas Day in his mid-twenties.

Although he realised he was gay during his teenage years, he continued to keep it a secret for a long time.

“Coming out to myself was a long drawn out teenage thing. It was pretty tortuous really and I was resisting it for quite a while and then suddenly I just let go and it was the best thing that ever happened to me”.