Laura Whitmore believes she will come out of 2020 as a "better person"

She said: "I've learned to be easier on myself. Not to put so much pressure on myself and to take time out. I definitely feel it's been the biggest learning year and I hope I'm coming out of it a better person.

"And I feel my voice has got louder and I'm not scared to say things I wouldn't have before."

One area in which the TV star pressured herself was over her social media usage, as she feared she was relying on apps like Instagram too much.

However, Laura ended up trying not to worry as it was her lifeline to the wider world.

She said: "I put pressure on myself at the start of lockdown because I was worrying that I was spending too much time on social media.

"I was on there a lot but I guess that was my connection to the outside world so I didn't want to be too hard on myself."

Despite this, Laura can still see the importance in logging off now and again.

She told OK! magazine: "But it is nice every now and again to take a day off. It's crazy how much of a routine it is. I was on a break recently and found myself logging on to Instagram in the morning out of habit.

"I had to delete it in the end to ensure I stayed off. It's a balancing act."

The 35-year-old star is also "grateful" social media didn't exist when she was in her teens and wasn't so popular when she was beginning her career.

She said: "I don't think it existed to the extent it does now when I was in my twenties. It's only really been a decade of things like Instagram, and it's only become as big as it has in recent years. I'm so grateful social media wasn't around when I was a teenager.

"If I wasn't invited to a party back then, I didn't have to see photos of it plastered all over my friends' Instagrams.

"When I first started on MTV, it was easier because if someone didn't like me, they just didn't like me. I didn't have to read about it all over Twitter."