When she’s presenting Good Morning Britain , Charlotte Hawkins’ alarm goes off at 2.30am. While most of us are still fast asleep, the 51-year-old is in hair and make-up, prepping for live TV. It’s a punishing routine, but one she takes in her stride. And as she catches up with OK !, it’s clear the early starts are just one part of a very full life.
Charlotte lives in Surrey with her husband, businessman Mark Herbert, and their 11-year-old daughter, Ella Rose – and balancing a young family with work is not always easy.
“Waking up at 2.30am does have an impact,” she tells us. “Sometimes you don’t even know what time of day it is. You go for a little nap and then you wake up thinking, ‘What time is it? What day is it? What have I missed?’”
She likens arriving at the studio in the morning to “stepping onto a roller-coaster”. She adds, “But I love it, because it’s so fast-paced. Sometimes you think you know what’s going to happen, then breaking news will completely change everything.”
With work that intense, carving out time with her daughter takes meticulous planning. “When you’re juggling being a mum as well, you have to make sure that you earmark that family time,” she says.
At the start of school holidays, they agree on the activities to do together. “We write a list of things, like baking a cake, and we make sure we tick them off.”
She is clearly proud that her daughter knows her own mind. “She’s got very strong opinions when it comes to style,” she says. “I went shopping with her recently and I was picking what I thought were cute outfits, and she was just like, ‘No! That’s disgusting.’”
Charlotte, who also presents the fashion segment for ITV Racing, adds, “I said, you know, ‘I do this for a living.’ She wasn’t having any of it. She definitely puts me in my place – but good for her. She’s got a strong sense of identity.”
One area where Charlotte holds the line, though, is technology. She’s thrilled with the government’s plans to bring in social media restrictions for under-16s next year. “[Ella Rose] doesn’t have a phone, so no access to social media.
“I’m pleased they’re bringing in [restrictions], it’s too much for children at that age and they don’t have the capacity, I don’t think, to be able to deal with the complexities and potential issues that come from that.”
She adds, “I know friends whose children have been bullied on social media, and it’s just not worth that risk. I look back at my childhood and think, ‘My goodness, I’m so glad I didn’t have it.’”
It’s an issue she takes seriously, not least because she sees the consequences play out at work. “We cover so many stories about parents who’ve lost children because of things that have happened online, and it’s just so heartbreaking. I’m fully in support of making the changes to protect children.”
Charlotte knows all too well how cruel the online world can be. “I’m staggered by the amount of nastiness out there, which seems to be getting worse,” she says. “People feel they can say anything to anyone. I have no doubt that they wouldn’t say that to someone’s face.
“Good manners and trying to be a good, kind person is so important. We’ve all got to take responsibility for how we treat people.”
Charlotte’s compassion is clear to see, both on and off screen. She made sure she was there for her close friend and GMB co-presenter Kate Garraway, 59, when she navigated the long illness of her husband Derek Draper, who died in January 2024 aged 56, after battling the effects of Covid-19.
“She’s had so much going on in her life, and I am full of admiration for the way that, whatever was happening, she didn’t let it show,” Charlotte says. In their quiet moments off-air, though, Charlotte saw the toll it was taking.
She shares, “We would have chats in the morning, before she was hosting, and you could see privately how much was going on – and yet she turned up and did her job. It was incredible that she did all of that.
“I know she knew we were there for her — it was a very supportive environment when she was going through the toughest parts of it.”
Charlotte couldn’t be happier to see her friend — who is said to have grown close to broadcast journalist Liam Halligan — in a brighter place. “It’s lovely to see her happier now. We’re pleased for her.”
The star’s warmth and grounded outlook come straight from her family — and especially from her late father Frank, a vicar who filled the home with classical music played as loudly as he could manage. It’s a love she’s carried into her own career, presenting on Classic FM, and one she hopes will continue in the family.
“I want to pass down that love of classical music to my daughter. There are ways people are making it modern and breathing a new sense of life into it for the future generations to come,” she says.
That passion has also led to a glamorous gig. Charlotte hosts the cinema broadcast of classical supremo André Rieu’s famous Summer Concert – which she’s been hosting since 2011 – this year dubbed Viva Maastricht!. The maestro’s hometown spectacular sees Maastricht’s historic Vrijthof Square transformed into a glittering, open-air ballroom, marking 20 years of his iconic concerts there.
In 2017, David Hasselhoff joined André on stage to perform. “I hadn’t expected to see him there at all,” Charlotte admits. “The audience went absolutely crazy! Getting to meet him was so surreal, having grown up watching Baywatch . He was lovely and I got a picture with him.”
Behind the glamour, Charlotte is very down-to-earth — never more so than when it comes to her looks. “I haven’t had any tweakments. I’d be concerned about messing with my face because I’ve seen examples of when it’s gone wrong. But I completely understand there are people who do it, and it looks amazing, and they feel amazing. So for those people, good on you.”
She adds, “There will come a time where I’ll look in the mirror like, ‘I think it’s time now.’ But not yet.”
She also relies on good nutrition. “I try to eat the right foods, drink water and take supplements,” she says. “I eat a lot of nuts and seeds, avocado, brown rice and sardines. But if I’m going out, I’ll have a blowout.”
Charlotte has been married to Mark for 18 years, which she credits partly to good conflict management. She says, “You’ve got to treat each other with respect, be each other’s best friends. We rarely have disagreements. When you know you’re in it for the long haul, you want to make it work. It’s best to talk about things as soon as possible. Some people bottle everything up and it comes out in a massive blow-up.
“Doing small things that show you care is also important. Sometimes couples can slip into bad habits, or even how they treat each other. As with everything in life, little acts of kindness can go a long way.”
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