Àngels Barceló has left Madrid and now lives on the Maresme coast, officially registered again in Catalonia. After nearly thirty years in the Spanish capital, she told betevé and El Periódico that she had lived there since 1997 but "did not want to grow old" there. That feeling prompted her return to Catalonia.
Her move followed her departure from «Hoy por hoy», Cadena SER’s flagship morning show. She stepped down in June, when the program was at its peak, drawing Spain’s largest radio audience. Years of daily live radio had worn her down. Barceló now calls the show a “shredder,” citing chronic lack of sleep and constant tension. The weight of responsibility also wore her down. Lecturas and Mundo Deportivo both report that she said goodbye to the show on June 11, 2026. She spent more than twenty years at Cadena SER, presenting "Hoy por hoy" from 2019 to 2026.
Speaking on «Bàsics» (betevé), Barceló said her years in Madrid outnumbered those in Barcelona. Still, she never saw Madrid as the place where she wanted to grow old. “I always said it wasn’t the city where I wanted to age, and I was aging,” she admitted. The city’s pace and mood never suited her; she felt out of step.
Barceló’s criticism of Madrid is sharp. She calls the city “very hostile,” a feeling she says has grown as right-wing and far-right parties gained power in the City Council and regional government. “There is a hostile climate. It’s not pleasant,” she says. For her, leaving was about more than comfort: Madrid’s changing politics and mood also played a part. La Vanguardia and Mundo Deportivo both report that she directly linked her decision to the rise of these political forces. She believes Madrid has become less welcoming in recent years.
But Barceló is not cutting ties with Madrid. She says she will maintain professional and personal connections there; the move changes her daily life, not her relationship with the city. Her new home in Maresme offers the calm she wanted, a sharp contrast with Madrid’s intensity. She cites the sea and her emotional connection to Barcelona as reasons she feels more at home, while acknowledging that Barcelona has its own problems with traffic and getting around.
Barceló chose the quieter Maresme area instead of basic Barcelona. She had found cheaper housing there before, and life moves more slowly. The move also brings a rare break in her career: for the first time since her early twenties, she is free from daily live radio. She can set her own schedule and is rediscovering life outside the news cycle.
Barceló has strong views on political interviews. She says she grew tired of politicians dodging questions or avoiding real answers, adding to her fatigue with public debate. The pressure of her old job and her frustration with politics pushed her to step back. Now, she is focused on her well-being and wants distance from the daily grind.
Barceló is not the only public figure to step away after a high-profile career. As reported earlier, others have left their posts under pressure and as politics shifted.
Her move from Madrid to Maresme is both personal and symbolic.
