Simon Hirst shocks listeners by quitting Capital Radio 'Daily Dose' breakfast show
He said: "There were many times on the air in recent years where I nearly said I'm transgender and I always wanted to say that.
"I knew from around the same time I wanted to be on the radio, I knew something wasn't right.
"I felt like a square peg in a round hole and I didn't really know why. I couldn't quite figure it out."
He described how he was "eaten alive" by thoughts of becoming a woman.
"Imagine someone poking you in the arm constantly, just tapping you," he said.
"It was like that, every single day, from the minute I woke up to the minute I went to sleep. It was always there.
"I would drive home in the car, I would be driving on the M1 and honestly I could have just turned the wheel
into the central reservation.
"I didn't of course. Or I would be screaming, going 'make it stop'.
"I remember sitting in my kitchen rocking backwards and forwards. It felt like she was eating me up inside."
Hirst said he has changed his name to Stephanie to keep a link with his former life.
"My name was Simon Neil Hirst and I still want to keep my initials because it's important to me, that.
"Some people in my position want to eradicate their past and forget about it.
"I'm very proud of what I have done in my past and I'm not going to erase that or try and get rid of it. I can't and I don't want to, it's who I am.
"I can get up and I can be myself and for me that encapsulates everything. I don't have to hide anymore, don't have to hide anymore. I can be me. I am a woman - and that's it."
Explaining his decision to quit the hit breakfast radio show, he said he needed to take time out for himself.
"I got to a point in my life where I had to stop doing what I was doing to focus on me," he said.
"I knew myself that I needed to take a break. This is massive and I needed to have some time to myself."
In a message to his former listeners, he said: "I'm still me, I'm still the person you listened to every day. I'm just me, I'm just happy now."
After the interview was broadcast, he tweeted: "I have been overwhelmed by the love & support you have shown me tonight."
He also received a message of support from former BBC Radio 1 breakfast presenter Chris Moyles, who tweeted: "140 characters is just not enough to explain how proud I am of my dear friend @hirstydose and the life she will now lead. It's all good!"
"I knew from around the same time I wanted to be on the radio, I knew something wasn't right.
"I felt like a square peg in a round hole and I didn't really know why. I couldn't quite figure it out."
He described how he was "eaten alive" by thoughts of becoming a woman.
"Imagine someone poking you in the arm constantly, just tapping you," he said.
"It was like that, every single day, from the minute I woke up to the minute I went to sleep. It was always there.
"I would drive home in the car, I would be driving on the M1 and honestly I could have just turned the wheel
into the central reservation."I didn't of course. Or I would be screaming, going 'make it stop'.
"I remember sitting in my kitchen rocking backwards and forwards. It felt like she was eating me up inside."
Hirst said he has changed his name to Stephanie to keep a link with his former life.
"My name was Simon Neil Hirst and I still want to keep my initials because it's important to me, that.
"Some people in my position want to eradicate their past and forget about it.
"I'm very proud of what I have done in my past and I'm not going to erase that or try and get rid of it. I can't and I don't want to, it's who I am.
"I can get up and I can be myself and for me that encapsulates everything. I don't have to hide anymore, don't have to hide anymore. I can be me. I am a woman - and that's it."
Explaining his decision to quit the hit breakfast radio show, he said he needed to take time out for himself.
"I got to a point in my life where I had to stop doing what I was doing to focus
on me," he said."I knew myself that I needed to take a break. This is massive and I needed to have some time to myself."
In a message to his former listeners, he said: "I'm still me, I'm still the person you listened to every day. I'm just me, I'm just happy
now."After the interview was broadcast, he tweeted: "I have been overwhelmed by the love & support you have shown me tonight."
He also received a message of support from former BBC Radio 1 breakfast presenter Chris Moyles, who tweeted: "140 characters is just not enough to explain how proud I am of my dear friend @hirstydose and the life she will now lead. It's all good!"
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