RADIO girl Adele Cunningham's chat over coffee and toast reveals more colour than a giant box of Smarties.

In the space of an hour, she shifts from serious talk of the demands on local radio set by multi-national owners, the fun - and trauma - of looking after two cats she's been 'gifted', her love life - and her connection with radio legend Tim Stevens.

What you learn very quickly of the presenter is that this is a lady in tune with West of Scotland audiences - she's funny, cheeky, clever ... and prepared to laugh at herself.

But with this realisation comes the recall that back in 2010, Adele Cunningham was dropped from the Radio Clyde breakfast show - co-presented with George Bowie and Des McLean - like a plate of cold porridge.

Incredibly, despite the young lady from Bearsden being hailed as the 'future of Radio Clyde,' Adele was let go.

"It came about when Suzie MacGuire came back from maternity leave and she was moved on to breakfasts with George Bowie," says Adele.

"I couldn't understand the logic of it. And I was really disappointed at the time. But things happen in radio. And you move on."

Today, she's lighting up the airwaves at Heart Scotland, the re-branded station formerly known as Real Radio. But what's happened in between?

"I wanted to move from co-host to presenter," she recalls. "So I went to West Sound, in Ayr, and learned a bit more.

"Then Paul Cooney from Capital FM called and offered me a job working at weekends. And it was fantastic."

Meantime, Adele was also working nights at STV.

"It was tiring," she says. "Now, I still work at STV one week a month. But I wanted to do more on radio. I wanted the chance to present more shows and a couple of months ago I got a call from Heart Scotland's boss, Richard Park.

"I was offered the weekend show, but also the chance to cover for weekday presenters and that's a fantastic chance for me to move forward."

Adele, now 35, is keen to land a weekday show. But because so many radio stations use network presenters rather than local, the options are limited.

"I'm determined to make a weekday show my own," she says. "Yet, I have a massive conscience in that I wouldn't want someone's loss to be my gain."

Adele was a late starter to radio, arriving at Radio Clyde aged 30. In her 20s, she'd been introduced to the world of radio by Tiger Tim.

"Tim took me into Radio Clyde and let me see how a show operated. And I was enthralled. But I guess I didn't have the confidence to pursue a career in radio at the time. It seemed beyond my reach."

Adele, whose former boyfriend was ex-Rangers star Jorg Albertz, tried her hand at several careers; she was a beauty therapist, a promotions girl, a barmaid, a fashion shop assistant and a nanny in California.

"As a beauty therapist, I just couldn't wax another bikini line," she says. "I was bored. As for the nanny job, the guy I worked for kept calling me Arlene, in spite of me arguing my name was Adele, so I left."

When Adele speaks of her previous jobs, the connective tissue, between the comments is she had been bored rigid with her career choices to date.

"Then one day, at the age of 30 I had had enough. I found myself sitting in a car park one day, sobbing my heart out. And just then my friend Victoria called who worked for Radio Clyde.

"She said 'Why don't you try radio? And she said I should talk to programme boss Paul Saunders. As a result, I did a demo for Paul, which led to doing the travel spots. I loved it but I wanted to do more.

"Soon after, I found myself at the top of the Kingston Bridge doing a live report and I loved it.

"From there I moved to the breakfast show. And it was fantastic."

Adele is a natural performer.

"My careers teacher said I should go into acting," she says, smiling.

"I actually took drama classes at 15, but I wasn't focused and lacked confidence at the time."

Television still has an appeal. And it's clear she could be a stand-out, given her model looks and sharp brain. Yet, Adele is transfixed by radio.

"There are lots of jobs I could do, but it would be like going out with a boyfriend just because he makes me feel safe."

She adds, grinning: "It's not what I want from a boyfriend or from a career. And I want to work in radio because I'm really passionate about. I'm in love with it."

n Adele Cunningham, Heart Scotland, Sundays, noon-4pm.