It's almost a year since a heartbroken Wilhelmina Shrimpton signed off from her news reading role on Newshub. She'd spent seven happy years at Three, cutting her teeth as a reporter before taking up the helm as presenter of the late news. Her colleagues were like family to her and the idea of leaving had never crossed the passionate journalist's mind.

“I think that's why it hit me so hard” she tells Woman's Day, reflecting on the year that's been. Wilhelmina, 31, was just one of many to leave the media company amid a tumultuous period of change after being bought by Discovery.

“I loved my job, so to leave it was one of the toughest things I've ever experienced. I remember looking around the studio after my final night on air, thinking, 'I'm not going to be able to do what I love any more, and I felt incredibly sad. I got home and sat on the edge of my bed, surrounded by all these beautiful flowers my workmates had given me, and sobbed for hours."

But after a brief stint working in digital advertising, Wilhelmina is delighted to be back doing what she loves. She's landed a role at the newly launched radio station Today FM, co-hosting the drive show with her former Newshub colleague Lloyd Burr. She'll also be reading the news and producing her own weekly podcast The Core, investigating the issues of the day. To say she's excited would be an understatement.

“This is genuinely a dream job for me and just goes to show that life has a funny way of working out sometimes," she says, her face lighting up with a huge smile. “It's a combination of all the things I love most presenting, entertaining and good old-fashioned journalism.