When Alex Jones arrives for her interview in her role as President and host of the coveted TRIC Awards, she is casual in a plain t-shirt and jeans and is begging for a bottle of water.
The One Show host is losing her voice just hours before she’s due to take to the stage at London’s Grosvenor House, prompting her close showbiz pal Rylan to brand her a husky ‘Phil Mitchell’.
Ten months ago, the presenter gave birth to her third child – her first daughter – Annie and has been non-stop ever since.
“I know it’s important to look after yourself but at the minute there just isn’t time in the schedule,” says the 45-year-old. “If I’ve got half an hour I’d rather be with the children.
"I think that’s part of the enormous mum guilt. Even if I do the last story at least I’m there and I’ve checked in.”
Alex’s sunny, down-to-earth style has seen her remain at the helm of The One Show for an incredible 11 years, during which time she and her insurance broker husband Charlie Thompson have grown from lovers who met in London to a beautiful family of five, even if Alex admits their newest addition wasn’t exactly expected.
“Annie was a huge surprise,” reveals Alex. “But she was very much wanted. I just love having the three of them. I always wanted a little gang. And Annie is a dream. She’s been the easiest baby.
"She’s just lovely and I remind myself every day to tell her when she’s older that she was the most incredible baby. She’s saved us completely. You wouldn’t even know she was there, she’s so good.”
Annie – whose name, Alex reveals, was inspired by the lead in the film Father of the Bride – joins her big brothers Teddy, five, and Kit, three, at the family home in London. Alex wakes at 5am daily to tend to her brood before heading off to work at 3pm and clocking off at 7.30pm.
"It’s a seriously demanding schedule that evokes huge waves of mum guilt, particularly for missing Teddy’s school pick-up. But Alex says she is grateful to have maintained her career, as she believes being a stay-at-home mum is a harder battle.
“My mum took the early years off until I was about seven,” she says. “Mum says to me at least with being a stay-at-home mum you know what you are. But I think it’s the hardest job in the world – it’s physical and demanding.
"At least I can have a cup of tea with colleagues, and a lot of my friends who work with me – Ronan Keating, Jermaine Jenius – they have children, and it’s a bit like therapy. We can talk to each other about all challenges, but stay at home mums, it’s full on. It’s not just going to a coffee and all of that.”
Of course, making the decision to return to her seat on the nation’s favourite magazine show hasn’t been without its sacrifices. Alex says she regularly struggles to stay across all her mum duties, and feels heartbroken at the thought of missing her kids’ “little moments”.
“It’s the thing that lots of us are trying to balance,” she says. “It’s trying to be as present as a parent and then trying to switch halfway through the day to try and do something entirely different. It’s hard to keep on top of everything because like most mums you want to be there for all the little moments, but when you’re a working mum that’s really difficult.
“At 7.30pm I pull my mics off and hop in the car and it’s back to mum duties. Sometimes I’ll go into the boys rooms and they’re like, ‘Mama, why have you got that red on your lips’, because I’ve come straight from the studio and I’ve got a bit too much makeup on.
“But on an everyday basis I miss school pick-up, which is huge. I’m trying to find ways of spending the time with Teddy that’s not at pick up but other times a day. We wake up and I try to have half an hour just with Ted to do some reading so that he feels we’ve had some one on one.
"Ted’s in school and Kit does nursery twice a week and then I’m with him the rest of the week. I think the youngest ones, they get a lot of me, but once Ted went to school things really changed and I really noticed. I take him every morning but sometimes I don’t see him until the next morning.”
How does Alex deal with that guilt? “Oh it’s awful,” she says. “I think we all suffer from it. I don’t think there’s an answer – all you can do is the best you can. And if you’re worried about it it usually means that you’re doing a really good job.”
Alex, who bravely spoke about suffering a miscarriage at 14 weeks in 2017, has nothing but gratitude for her lot, even if she and Charlie have naturally put their dating life on hold.
“I don’t think we’ve been to a restaurant together in about two years,” laughs Alex. “But you know what, we also think that’s OK, because when we have days on the weekends and we do things just us and the children, that feels really special and I think we’re resigned to the fact that is what life is at the minute, and it will change again.
"Because I work quite a lot as well, those days are really precious and that’s what we’re embracing. There isn’t a lot of time for us in it, but we’ll be alright. We’ll still be there together when we come out of the other side.”
Alex and Charlie, who is from New Zealand met at a party in 2011, and tied the knot three years later on New Year’s Eve at a private ceremony at Cardiff Castle. They welcomed Teddy – real name Edward – in January 2017 and Kit in May 2019, revealing they didn’t know the gender until Alex gave birth.
Now they have their daughter, Alex feel her brood is complete, with Annie already showing some female independence.
“She’s completely different,” says Alex. “The boys are very demanding and needy and clingy. Obviously, I enjoy it and I’m going to take it for as long as they want to cling on, but Annie – she’s just already a lot more independent. She’s happy to play on her own and be in her bouncer, or the high chair. Just completely different, and we’ve been really lucky to experience both.”
On making the transition from two to three, she laughs: “I think once you’ve got one child you’re committed,” she laughs. “You’re in the zone and your life will never be the same, whether you’ve got one or four. I think we noticed the difference with two – that upped a gear a little bit more, but with three – and thankfully because Annie has the temperament she has – we’re very lucky.”
If she is experiencing any parent fatigue, you wouldn’t know it. Even in jeans and a tee, Alex looks absolutely glowing, although she admits she rarely has time for herself.
“Ha, that’s because there’s a make up artist,” she says. “I try to eat well and exercise, I’m really aware that the kids needs us for a long time so we try and be as healthy as we can be. For me, I just think in a few years, they’ll be more independent and I’ll be really sad. Even now I think, Ted’s grown so much.
"There’ll be time for massages and all of that stuff later. For now, between work and them, I’m at capacity and I’m OK with that.”
Alex returned to work at BBC1’s The One Show just three months after Teddy was born and later said perhaps she should have waited – she was still breastfeeding so it meant having to express milk while she was away, adding stress to an already high-pressure situation.
It’s now eleven years since she took over from Christine Lampard and she reckons she’d be happy there for life because her bosses prioritise a happy work-life balance.
“They’re amazing, “ she says. “Most people who work on the show have families. They get it and believe that people who can balance as much as possible are happier and more productive. It’s really set up like that – it’s all about being able to do the both as well as possible.
"It’s fantastic to be part of a team that puts family first. Not everywhere is like that – it can be really challenging for some working mums.
“I have a whatsapp group with Ronan and Jermain – it’s lovely because we’ve all got children the same age. Jacob, Jermaine’s youngest, is two months younger than Annie and Olivia is a year older than my eldest so they’re close in age.
"And Ronan’s little boy is the same as Teddy and Koko is two so we just constantly – that’s all we talk about. They’ve hung out. We’re planning bbqs over the summer.”
Of course, there was a time when Alex played as hard as she worked. The life and soul of any party, she would never turn down the offer of a night out. And there’s still one person that can bring out the former party girl in her – her colleague Rylan.
In March the pair has an epic night out, showcasing their pole dancing skills on Instagram. The next day Alex wrote: “Only just starting to feel human again!! You nearly finished me with the tequila but it was all worth it. Love you @rylan x
She explains: “We went out after work and obviously he led me astray. The thing with Rylan, he is just the loveliest boy. During lockdown we were just on our own a lot because we had no crew – there was just us there and we got to know each other really well. He’s such a support in so many different ways. Super lovely – and also a big pusher of tequila!”
So did Alex imagine back at the start that she’d still be in the same job a decade on?
“Yes! I’m a creature of habit,” she says. “I love routine, the job works really well with family life and the minute I had the first audition for that job I thought ‘yeah I love it – I could really settle here’.
“Even though the structure of the show is the same, every day single show daily is very different – because it depends on the guest, the content and we’ve got such a brilliant team on it that changes quite often, so it feels like a brand new show every day to me.
"I just love it. I love doing live telly – I love how unpredictable it can be. I’m just weird like that! Anything can happen. I also love what time I finish, and the show is just such a warm environment. It’s like a family.”
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