For the past 16 years, Alex Jones has been a familiar face on The One Show , interviewing A-listers and sharing heartwarming stories with the nation. But as the much-loved BBC One programme celebrates its 20th anniversary this month, Alex, 49, admits she still finds it hard to juggle working life with her mum duties.
“Presenting The One Show is my dream job. I still can’t believe how lucky I am. But something always has to give,” she tells us. “I always have mum guilt.”
Alex and her insurance broker husband Charlie Thomson have three children — Teddy, nine, Kit, seven, and four-year-old Annie.
“I’m paddling away furiously under the surface. But then, everyone is,” Alex says. “Everyone has worries and commitments and something that makes their life less straightforward. I don’t think we’ve cracked it and sometimes I feel like the balance is all wrong. But I do try my best.”
Working on the BBC’s flagship show means Alex is not home in the evenings. She says, “I don’t do bedtime, but I do take my children to school in the morning.”
But she usually still sees her little ones after she gets home from work. “They never sleep through the night,” she explains. “It probably comes from me, as I never slept through the night as a child. The youngest two are similar to me and have my brain. They never switch off. They’re like Duracell bunnies!”
Alex adds, “If I’m honest, they come looking for me. I said to Annie, ‘Darling, you need to start sleeping in your own bed,’ even though I love it when she hops in next to me. She said, ‘Mama, I haven’t seen you and you haven’t picked me up from school. I won’t see you until tomorrow.’ It’s clever, she got me!
“If that’s where we are at this stage, who cares? The years go by so fast and I don’t want to rush their childhood. So what if we’re all in the same bed?”
Alex has presented a range of entertainment shows and documentaries, was a semi-finalist on Strictly Come Dancing in 2011 and took part in The Masked Singer earlier this year. Was she ever tempted to go for the Strictly presenting job following the departure of Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly?
She says, “Being on Strictly was the best four months of my life. I watch it religiously. But this [ The One Show ] is my home. I will be cheering on Emma [Willis]. She’s the right choice and will guide that ship.”
The Welsh star says her 16 years on The One Show have flown by. Chatting at BBC HQ at Broadcasting House in London, she admits, “It doesn’t feel like that long to me. People might ask, ‘Do you not want to do something else?’ But for me, it’s a live show, I’m so used to it and it fits our rhythm at home. Plus the guests are always different, so the dynamic of the show is then different.”
Most importantly of all, she still loves what she does. “I really enjoy it. Even if I’ve had a bad day, which is rare, I come in here and forget all about it. So for me, longevity is the key, not necessarily doing different things all the time.”
Away from The One Show , which she hosts alongside Roman Kemp, Alex is kept on her toes not only by three energetic children, but also a Labrador called Scout, Sabrina the cat and more recently, baby rabbits.
Two years ago, the family left London and relocated to the countryside near Ascot in Berkshire. “It was the right move and we’ve never regretted it,” she says.
Alex and New Zealander Charlie celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in Auckland last New Year, but things have not always been easy after he suffered a health knockback in 2023.
“He had that awful viral meningitis — well, they think it was Lyme disease,” Alex explains. “So we made the decision that Charlie would be home at bedtime, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair on the children. Mum and Dad are amazing and help out too, even though they live in Cardiff. Charlie loves being at home and his health is back to normal now, but we’re doing a big house renovation and he will manage that. So it works.”
Does she miss the bright lights of the city? “I used to love living in London, but actually I’m a lot calmer since we moved. I think everyone gets to that point where you start liking garden centres and trees.”
Having her own family has always been hugely important, but infertility was once a concern as Alex’s mum had an early menopause at 33.
“It can be hereditary, but I only found out when I was doing a documentary for the BBC about fertility, and in the interview I did with Mum she casually mentioned it. I was concerned at the time, as Charlie and I hadn’t had children. But looking back I’m glad we had them a bit later. It was the right time for us.”
Alex is currently experiencing perimenopausal symptoms. “It’s definitely arrived,” she says. “What helps? Nutrition and exercise. I walk a lot. I eat an insane amount of tomatoes and beetroot.”
Born in Carmarthenshire, Wales, Alex began her career behind the scenes as a researcher before becoming a presenter aged just 21. After dabbling in children’s TV, she landed the One Show gig in 2010, co-hosting with Matt Baker until he left in 2020.
“Matt sometimes teases me that I have found a younger man in Roman,” she laughs.
Speaking of her natural on-screen bond with Roman, she says, “He and I have the same sense of humour. I look forward to our shows together because they’re such a breeze. He’s so lovely with my boys too, and gets footballers’ autographs for them.”
Alex has plenty of highlights from her time on the show. One was her “horrendous” Sport Relief challenge in 2014, when she raised £1.2 million while climbing a 1,200-ft vertical cliff in Utah. She even had to sleep suspended on a sheer rock face as part of the mission.
“That was the scariest thing, without a shadow of a doubt,” she says. “I was terrified, and climbing for three days straight was a challenge.”
There have been plenty of less panic-inducing highlights, too. “We cover so many events like D-Day, royal weddings and the death of the late Queen. The show is at the heart of big national moments,” she says.
Alex particularly enjoys the interplay between Hollywood stars and real-life heroes. “We had Tom Hanks and George Clooney on the same show, side by side with somebody who’s done something extraordinary in their community. The balance is something that’s special on this show — you don’t get it anywhere else.”
With her 50th birthday on the horizon next year, Alex is already making plans. “I’ll celebrate with my family and my school and uni friends, who are still my best friends. We’ve got a couple of girls’ trips planned.”
Unfazed about getting older, she says, “The only thing that makes me sad is that there will be less time. I’m aiming for 100, so I figure I’m only half way.”
Reflecting on all she has achieved so far, she adds, “I feel very grateful. I love my job, I love being a mum, Charlie is an amazing husband and I’m very lucky that my mum and dad are still very mobile. You have to count your blessings while the going’s good.”
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