ALEX JONES: Having Kids Later In Life, The One Show and Davina McCall Invigilating My University Exams

Summary

Podcast Summary: Great Company with Jamie Laing

Episode: ALEX JONES: Having Kids Later In Life, The One Show and Davina McCall Invigilating My University Exams
Date: November 19, 2025
Host: Jamie Laing
Guest: Alex Jones

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Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Jamie Laing sits down with Alex Jones, beloved presenter of The One Show, for a warm, open-hearted conversation about her journey from a shy Welsh child to household TV star. Alex shares stories about finding her confidence, breaking into TV, balancing late motherhood with career, mental health, relationships, and what truly matters in life. Listeners get a rare glimpse behind the “TV persona” into Alex’s authentic, empathetic, and quietly resilient self.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introversion, Authenticity, and Public Persona

• Alex describes herself as "still an introvert, still shy," despite her public-facing role [(00:00)].

• She shares how, even after years in TV, she feels people only see her surface:

  “People don’t really know me… I’ve managed to stay on this surface level where people go, there you are, that’s that nice girl on that show. But people don’t really know me.”
  — Alex Jones (10:09)

• Jamie highlights Alex’s warmth and openness, calling her “a lantern… people like to come to you and they feel comfortable around you” [(21:46)].

• Alex prefers genuine, small group connections:

  “I love people I feel comfortable with… but if you say, ‘do you want to go to this party or premiere,’ no thank you. Hell.”
  — Alex Jones (22:03)

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2. Childhood in Wales: Shyness, Dreams, and Ambition

• Alex vividly recounts a painfully shy upbringing. She credits her parents, who had her young, for giving her both loving care and down-to-earth values [(18:33)].

  “Painfully shy, to the point where my parents thought, there’s something wrong with her… I was really struggling to speak at all, even in school.”
  — Alex Jones (19:37)

• Despite her introversion, she harbored big ambitions and daydreams:

  “I remember using Dad’s calculator and pretending it was a phone by my bed. I’d order room service with this phone that was a calculator… I always thought there’s more out there than this. Quietly, kind of, I guess, ambitious.” (23:12)

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3. Breaking into Television: Tenacity, Letters & Davina McCall

• Alex talks about her relentless approach to entering TV:

  “I wrote so many letters to all these different people… spent days looking at companies, finding the person I needed, typing out letters, sending pictures, sending a CV with bugger all on it…”
  — Alex Jones (13:03)

• Her first TV “taste” was as a contestant on Prickly Heat, hosted by Davina McCall and Julian Clary. In a memorable twist, Davina invigilated Alex’s university finals in Magaluf:

  “Davina was the invigilator. ‘Ten minutes left, pens down!’ and they filmed it all.”
  — Alex Jones (15:41)

• She credits the industry’s kindness, noting how Davina’s handwritten note has inspired her to “do the best [she] can” with young people today [(17:51)].

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4. Career Longevity & Self-Improvement

• Alex sees herself as “self-taught,” learning by watching back her own work, making notes and pushing through discomfort:

  “You have to push through [hating seeing yourself] to get to the bits that… you change. Only way to get better is by listening back or watching. I’m still learning. I still don’t think I’m good at it.”
  — Alex Jones (8:13)

• Discusses the “imposter syndrome” of expecting answers at every life stage, only to find “everyone’s guessing”—something Jamie relates to at turning 30.

• Shares the importance of resilience and standing out—especially for today's generation, who can connect more easily but face “a saturated sea.”

  “Resilience, as you say, is key.”
  — Alex Jones (13:35)

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5. Family, Independence, and Relationships

• Alex reflects on her parents’ sacrifices—her mother gave up her ambitions after losing her own mother, urging Alex instead:

  “Do something you love… That was probably the biggest gift I had.”
  — Alex Jones (32:42)

• On having children later in life:

  “I did. I was a dinosaur… You can’t choose when you fall in love with the person who will become the father of your children. He came to me when I was 32.”
  — Alex Jones (35:35)

• Describes meeting her now-husband Charles at a fancy dress party (“cowboy and all”), and knowing “by drink number three—I knew he was the one.”

• Shares her anxieties about maternity leave and feeling “replaceable” at work [(44:35)].

• Her mantra on relationships:

  "We don't run from each other. We face it all head on. ...We stick and we dig in and we do it."
  — Alex Jones (51:51)

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6. Mental Health: Supporting a Loved One

• Jamie sensitively raises Alex’s experience supporting her husband through mental health issues. Alex admits making mistakes, initially failing to understand the severity:

  “I thought I’d been depressed, but then I saw it, and I thought, no, I haven’t.”
  — Alex Jones (48:16)

  “All you can do is... let go of judgment ...I had to bite my tongue so hard from saying, ‘Come on, let’s go for a walk!’ Oh my God, I was doing it so wrong.”
  — Alex Jones (50:18)

• On advice for supporters:

  “If you know that person, you know that it’s an illness, it’s not them… Everything is a phase. This too shall pass... but you’ve just got to dig in.”
  — Alex Jones (52:18)

• On changed understanding:

  “Sometimes, you have to witness it close up to really understand what depression is.”
  — Alex Jones (47:41)

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7. Life, Work, and Joy

• Alex finds joy in simple things, relishes busyness:

  “I like being busy, but it’s busy with all the good stuff… On a Sunday, making an apple crumble with the kids in the kitchen… that's where I feel happiest.”
  — Alex Jones (68:45)

• On her career:

  “People ask, why are you still there? I’m not bored, I still feel I need to prove myself. You only need to leave when you feel done.”
  — Alex Jones (45:14)

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8. Women, Age, and Motherhood

• Alex talks plainly about social pressures:

  “As a woman, it feels like if you decide not to have kids, people look… strange. Then, when you do, and later in life, people say ‘That’s a bit [late]’… It’s a weird balance, you can’t win.”
  — Alex Jones (35:40)

• She waited until she felt ready, met the right partner at 32, and had her first child at 38—“I wouldn’t change it. It’s just how life happened.” (43:39)

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9. The One Show: Tenure, Team, and Recent Challenges

• On 15 years at The One Show:

  “I've grown up in front of our audience. From being in a bloody cowboy costume at 32... to becoming a wife, to becoming a mum, they’ve seen it all.”
  — Alex Jones (45:30)

• Regarding recent “revolving door” of presenters and workplace issues (re: Jermaine Jenas):

  “We didn’t know... The BBC dealt with it and I think if people feel uncomfortable, they have to deal with it. If it was my daughter... I would hope that company... would deal with it. And that’s what happened.”
  — Alex Jones (59:29-60:02)

• She acknowledges she’s been lucky not to experience “horrible” workplace incidents herself but has “a lot of respect for the girls that did [speak up]... It’s an incredibly brave thing to do.” (62:39)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Being Self-Taught and Imperfect:

  “I’ve just been making it up for the last kind of 20 years.”
  — Alex Jones (07:17)

• On TV Dreams in Small-Town Wales:

  “You couldn’t say out loud in South Wales 'I want to be a presenter.' You’d get laughed out the welfare hall.”
  — Alex Jones (31:53)

• On Parental Love:

  “My 6-year-old son said [before the National Television Awards], ‘Mama, you look so pretty.’ ...That will stick with me forever.”
  — Alex Jones (64:48)

• On Welsh Swear Words:

  “The word for a jellyfish in Welsh is ‘contamor.’ That means ‘cunt of the sea.’”
  — Alex Jones (69:47)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |---------------|-----------| | 00:00–10:00 | Introversion, Shyness, and TV Persona | | 13:00–18:00 | Writing Letters, First TV Appearances, Davina McCall | | 18:30–25:30 | Childhood, Parents, Quiet Ambition | | 31:00–35:30 | Industry Advice, Parental Encouragement, Career Obstacles | | 35:30–46:00 | Relationships, Having Kids Later, Meeting Her Husband | | 46:00–54:30 | Supporting Mental Health, Lessons Learned | | 54:49–61:00 | Career Journey, The One Show, Presenter Scandal | | 64:12–69:50 | Quick-Fire Questions: Home, Compliments, Fears, Guilty Pleasures, Welsh Swear Words |

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Tone & Atmosphere

The conversation is warm, candid, humorous, and empathetic—Alex’s self-deprecating wit pairs beautifully with Jamie’s friendly, curious interviewing style. They showcase genuine vulnerability, moving from laughter about “Contamor” (Welsh jellyfish) to honest admissions about mental health, motherhood, and the realities of media careers.

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Summary for New Listeners

This episode offers a heartfelt, insightful deep-dive into Alex Jones’s journey—from a shy Welsh girl to a cherished TV anchor and mother of three. Expect honest talk on family, resilience, industry grit, and the importance of empathy in supporting loved ones. Alex’s humility, humor, and perspective will resonate with anyone seeking comfort and inspiration—even, or perhaps especially, if you haven’t caught her on The One Show.

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Memorable Closing Moment

• On what she likes most about herself:

  “I am happy with the people I love doing something super boring. … That's where I feel happiest.”
  — Alex Jones (68:45)

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(End of summary)

Transcript

[Alex Jones]

I'm still an introvert, I'm still shy.

[Jamie Lang]

But actually, you're the most warm, open person.

[Alex Jones]

But I don't think people really know me either.

[Jamie Lang]

What would you like people to know about you?

[Alex Jones]

Hi, I'm Alex Jones and I'm in great company. One show presenter, Alex Jones.

[Jamie Lang]

Welcome to the One show with Alex Jones. What were you like as a kid?

[Alex Jones]

I was incredibly shy. Like painfully shy. You couldn't say out loud in South Wales, I want to be a television presenter. You get laughed after the welfare hall. I mean, don't be ridiculous. Absolutely not. The more it went on into my teens, the more frustrated I was feeling. I was like, I've got to get out of here.

[Jamie Lang]

Was there a moment where work and career and everything came first? You had kids later in life?

[Alex Jones]

I did. I was a dinosaur. You can't choose when you fall in love with a person that will become the father of your children. He came to me when I was 32. Relationships are never plain, Sail.

[Jamie Lang]

Never. They're never. Your husband has dealt with his own mental health issues.

[Alex Jones]

I thought I'd been depressed, but then I saw it and I thought, no, I haven't. I don't know whether I did the right thing. I hadn't understood it, and that's my own failing.

[Jamie Lang]

But what advice would you give for people who are around someone who is struggling?

[Alex Jones]

We will answer your call as soon as we can.

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[Jamie Lang]

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[Jamie Lang]

Hello everyone, my name is Jamie Lang and this is Great Company. Guys. Welcome back to Great Company. Firstly, hey to everyone who is coming back for another episode. Thank you so much for returning to the show. I hope that means that you like the episode and and if you're new to it, welcome. My name is Jamie, I'm the host and today's episode with Alex Jones is gonna totally entertain you in so many different ways because for me, do we really know who Alex Jones is? We've seen her on our television for so long on the one show, working with the BBC, so many different things but actually getting behind that TV Persona and finding out who Alex Jones really is. Today on the episode we really do. Before we start, I always say this, and I know you don't like it, but I just have to remind you, if you haven't subscribed to our show already, if you can just click button, it's completely free. And it does us wonders. It keeps allowing me to get the best team of experts that help making the show on, so we can keep building the show into what we want it to become. If you can do that one favor for me, that's all I'll ask. Okay. Enjoy this episode of Great Company with Alex Jones.

[Alex Jones]

Hi, I'm Alex Jones and I'm in Great company.

[Jamie Lang]

Alex Percy, thank you for coming on the show.

[Alex Jones]

It's such a pleasure. Jamie.

[Jamie Lang]

Oh, my God. Are you kidding me?

[Alex Jones]

Honestly, I think you are an extraordinary interviewer.

[Jamie Lang]

Really? Yes.

[Alex Jones]

Well, it's such a gift that you've got.

[Jamie Lang]

Well, why? What do you think makes a good interviewer?

[Alex Jones]

Well, I think somebody who's empathetic.

[Jamie Lang]

Okay.

[Alex Jones]

Somebody who you are not afraid of, just kind of listening. And so many people don't listen. Lots of people have a list of questions and they go, there you are. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. And they're not listening, but you listen well.

[Jamie Lang]

You very kindly. You met Jemima, who is sitting across there, who is my wonderful producer, who. She was the person who said to me, and you mentioned this, when I first started interviewing, I would feel like I had to fill silences with something. And she said, don't be afraid of the silence.

[Alex Jones]

No. It took me ages to learn that. But you have to sometimes. Cause people are just thinking, or they might come with something extra, and the extra bit is kind of the bit that you really want.

[Jamie Lang]

So. Okay, so where did you learn? Because you are an exceptional.

[Alex Jones]

I'm not.

[Jamie Lang]

You are. Let's just get. Let's get this out of the way. You're an exceptional host. You're an unbelievable interviewer. You are, you know, you are a national treasure pretty much.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

There.

[Jamie Lang]

I reckon you're there all past it already.

[Alex Jones]

Ah, Jamie, you are.

[Jamie Lang]

I'm gonna.

[Alex Jones]

I mean, it's so kind, but that is just ridiculous because I've just been making it up for the last kind of 20 years.

[Jamie Lang]

Really?

[Alex Jones]

Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

But explain that to me, because that's what everyone feels like. I. I remember when I turned 30 years old, I said this before. I was like, I'm going to turn 30. Someone's going to open a door and they're going to go, come on inside. Here are all the answers. And then I suddenly got to 30 and I was like, wait, everyone's guessing. Where are the answers?

[Alex Jones]

I think you just make loads of mistakes and then you gradually learn how to do it. And I think, see, I'm still kind of the conscientious girl I was in school in some ways because when I started out in telly, I would watch things back and I would make little notes and it's really uncomfortable watching yourself back, isn't it? Like people hate the sound of their own voice, you know, like even if you hear yourself on an answer phone. Answer phone. Who the hell has got answer phone?

[Jamie Lang]

But I know what you mean. I know what you mean.

[Alex Jones]

I know what you mean on the radio or whatever. And nobody likes the sound of their own voice. And I think you have to push through that to get to the bits that make you look at it and go, oh, it's so awful when I do that. And then you change it. But you've got to confront things face on, I think. And the only way to get better is by listening back to podcasts. You may have been a guest on or watching shows back. That's the only way. But I'm kind of self taught in a way. I don't know. And I'm still learning. I still don't think I'm good at it.

[Jamie Lang]

It's like exposure therapy. Yeah. It's one of those things which I think is really important. So. I used to be scared about walking across three drains. Right.

[Alex Jones]

I am. I'm so scared about three drains.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah. Because I don't know, something's gonna happen to my family or the world's gonna explode. I don't know what. So what I had to try and do is I had to expose myself to the. To start walking across three drains.

[Alex Jones]

You can do it.

[Jamie Lang]

Not really. I have to say toast every single time I do it.

[Alex Jones]

Why toast?

[Jamie Lang]

I don't know. Someone told me that once. So what? Used to be spitting, which was not good. So I'd walk across three drains, then have to spit. Someone told me that. But then I changed it to be toast. But so I had that thing. And then when I was. When I was doing Made in Chelsea and everything, and that was all a bit hectic. I got social anxiety for whatever reason. And so I didn't want to go and have one on one lunches because it was too intimate. And so I had to force myself into it to go and expose myself to the situation to realize it wasn't that scary.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

And once you start doing that, you're like, okay, it's all right. What times in your life have you had to expose yourself to something that you were like, I just don't wanna do?

[Alex Jones]

Oh, Jamie, I knew you were gonna get straight in there. This is the thing about this podcast, right? You have got this knack of kind of unlocking people. I was like, he's not gonna unlock me. He's not going to unlock me. The thing is, I think, you know, I'll answer that question in a sec.

[Jamie Lang]

But I think, are you gonna answer truthfully? Do you think?

[Alex Jones]

I am? Because there's no point doing these things without being truthful. And I, I'm one of those people, I kind of wear my heart on my sleeve. I've got nothing to hide, you know, and. But I don't think people really know me either, which is weird, isn't it? Because I've kind of managed to stay on this kind of surface level where people go, there you are, that's that nice girl on that show. And she's, you know, she' just loves to chat with people. People don't really know me. And I thought, here we go, Jamie, now is gonna get under my skin.

[Jamie Lang]

That's interesting though, because that must be down to you as well, not wanting to show a lot of your personal life and your personal self. Or maybe it is. Maybe I'm wrong.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah, I'm really open as a person. Ask me anything and I'll give you the honest answer. I just think maybe it's kind of, you know, I'm synonymous with a show that's really packed full of content and the guests are kind of the main focus and I am just there to facilitate the chat. So maybe that's it.

[Jamie Lang]

What would you like people to know about you?

[Alex Jones]

Gosh, that's a really good question. You're brilliant at this because this is like a therapy session already. We've only been sat down for a while.

[Jamie Lang]

Don't worry.

[Alex Jones]

Four minutes.

[Jamie Lang]

I know, don't worry. We have light and shade. It does. It's light and shade.

[Alex Jones]

Do you know, I think, I mean, it's what my friends know about me, really. I hope I'm an empathetic person. I hope I'm a really good friend, all of those things. I mean, I'm not very good at being kind to myself. I think if somebody says, what's your best quality? Oh, oh, I don't know. And it's not because I don't want to be big headed and say it. I literally don't know. But I know I'm those things. I hope I can say Those things and I know that that's true. I'm a good friend, I'm empathetic, I love a bit of a laugh and I love life. I'm a happy person. I mean, I think that comes across probably my day to day job, but that's. Yeah, I'm not a big worrier. No, I don't have much anxiety, weirdly. Yeah, I kind of get on with it and that's probably the way I've been brought up.

[Jamie Lang]

For someone listening right now, right, who is finding it tricky to get into any industry, they're finding it hard, they feel like giving up. Maybe it's the TV industry and they're thinking, I just don't know how I'm going to do it. Maybe I'm there living in Wales and thinking, I can never reach that. What advice would you give them?

[Alex Jones]

I think you have to be quite tenacious. But there is always a way and I'm a big believer in that. And this is what I, I already have started telling the children and to be honest, Jamie is, you know, it's going nowhere. I mean, they're four, six and eight, they don't care. But there's always a way through and if one door is closed, there's always going to be a fire exit that's slightly ajar.

[Jamie Lang]

Always, always.

[Alex Jones]

And you know, I wrote so many letters to all these different people and then it was really hard to find people's email address, but I'd look up the company, I'd spend days looking at companies going through who worked there, finding the person that I needed to connect with, typing out letters, sending pictures, send in a cv which I'd bugger all on it. But, you know, and eventually things started and lock in, if it's what you want.

[Jamie Lang]

You cannot stop and you cannot give up.

[Alex Jones]

You cannot stop, you cannot give up. And I think these days, maybe because of social media, I think people tend to think it's easier totally because you can connect easier and we've lost our resilience. But the thing is about that the sea now is just saturated with people who can get to you quickly. You've got to stand out and resilience, as you say, is key.

[Jamie Lang]

Who was the first letter you wrote to?

[Alex Jones]

I think it was children's BBC.

[Jamie Lang]

What did it say?

[Alex Jones]

And it said, look, I have no experience but I'm really willing to learn. And of course you didn't do a tape then, did you? You know, now you just get on your phone and you do a tape. And I'd done Little bits and pieces. And I'd been a contestant on this. On this dating game show which was filmed in Magaluf. Davina was the host for Julian Clary and I did a little taste of telly. And I thought, this is fun.

[Jamie Lang]

What's it called?

[Alex Jones]

This is beyond the Mountain. It was called Prickly Heat. And they were like. I can't remember, something like 40 people between the ages of, say, 19 and 23 in Magaluf. Everybody was having sex with everybody. And it was just really good fun. And we were out there and it was kind of like, it's a knockout on the beach. And then it was Wales, England, Northern Ireland and Scotland all against each other.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah.

[Alex Jones]

And I just thought, this is excellent. I want to be Divina. And that was the start.

[Jamie Lang]

Did you speak? Does Divina remember this? Have you spoken before?

[Alex Jones]

Oh, my God. Completely.

[Jamie Lang]

Really?

[Alex Jones]

Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

Have you said. Do you remember Prickly? He. Because I was.

[Alex Jones]

I mean, we often go. Isn't it weird? Because I did my A levels, not my A levels. I did my finals for my degree in Magaluf because I took part in this program. And that's a long story. Like, the university were like, absolutely not. You're not doing your finals in Magaluf. And I was like, please let me go and do this. So they flew my papers out, and Davina was the invigilator.

[Jamie Lang]

You're lying.

[Alex Jones]

No, that's what happened.

[Jamie Lang]

Sorry, hang on a second. Davina was the invigilator for your exam. So sat in front of you while you were doing these.

[Alex Jones]

She was like, 10 minutes left. Come on. Okay, pens down. Yeah. And they filmed it all. So that was the beginning of the madness. You see, that is wild. I know. And so then I thought, right, well, I like this. Maybe I can do this. And I used to watch Davina on Street Mate back in the day. She was so brilliant. Still excellent. And I have to say about her, at the end of that series, she sent all the girls a little card. It's a hello, sunshine. You know, little Miss. Like a hello, sunshine one. And she wrote a lovely message, a personal message, which I still have. And I just thought she and she still. We know she's an incredible sort of human and she's an incredible presenter, but those things go a long way, don't they?

[Jamie Lang]

Well, it's. You remember them?

[Alex Jones]

We.

[Jamie Lang]

We just did our Candy Kittens Away day, which is the sweet company they have. And what I wanted to do is I wanted to get everyone. I was finding a way for everyone to speak about something Right. And I was like, how am I going to get everyone up to say something without them feeling nervous or scared or whatever? So I said, right, I would love everyone to stand up and say, one core memory they have with candy kittens and one personal thing you've overcome this year. And everyone got. And it got quite emotional. It's quite amazing. And one person said, I have a core memory, which is where I was having a tricky time leading up to Christmas. And I spoke to someone on the phone and I went, oh, that was me. And she didn't say who it was. So I spoke to someone on the phone and they said, don't worry, it's going to be okay. You've got to take time to stuff. I don't want you to work over Christmas. And on Christmas Day, that person then messaged me asking if I was okay. It almost makes me, like, emotional now, like, thinking about it. And she said, for me, that was such a core memory. And it made me realize that those little things in life, replying to, writing a little note saying thank you, saying a thank you letter, doing people remember it.

[Alex Jones]

They really do.

[Jamie Lang]

They never forget it. And you getting that little note, all those little notes, you just would never forget it.

[Alex Jones]

But it's made me a better person in terms of. Because I remember that. So now when young people come into the studio or when we film with them and they, you know, they ask me to sign something for, I always try and do the best I can because it's a real. It is a memory for people, isn't it? You know, I have that little card still and it's in a box of, you know, just sort of different memories that I keep. And I always go back to that and say, you know, that little card, it meant the world.

[Jamie Lang]

So when you were younger, living in Wales.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

What were you like as a kid?

[Alex Jones]

I was incredibly shy, like painfully shy, really, to the point where my parents thought there's something wrong with her. So they. But they were very much. They had me when they were really young, which I'm so grateful for now because. So mum was 23, nearly 24 when she had me, which, of course, you know, in this day and age, that is so young, isn't it? And dad was, I think, 25, and they really didn't know how to parent. I mean, they were kids themselves, really, and they kind of just looked at their parents and used the same tactics, which were, okay, kids should be seen and not heard. So we'd go to people's houses and they were like, be quiet. And I think they say this now. Mum's like, I'm so sorry that I did that. Because actually you just shrank and you became smaller and smaller to the point where I was really struggling to speak at all, even in school, really. So I was just. Yeah, I was so shy. Really painfully shy. I still am.

[Jamie Lang]

If you think back to then, what were you shy? What were you worried about? What do you think was gonna happen if you spoke out?

[Alex Jones]

Oh, God, I just couldn't even find my voice at all. You know, even in assembly or in class and they'd say, you know, they'd ask a question and I'd know the answer, but there was no way I was gonna put my hand up. I mean, the thought of speaking out loud was, oh, terrifying.

[Jamie Lang]

Do you remember a moment where you did finally speak out?

[Alex Jones]

Yeah. I mean, I changed when I became sort of 16, 17. Found boys that helped. Grooves and boobs that helped. I was so small. I was like the skinniest and the shortest in my class and the quietest. And then I suppose, you know, puberty happens and everything kind of changed. But really, Jamie, I'm sorry. Still, like, I'm still an introvert. I'm still shy. I'm kind of like. I don't know, I'm like a high functioning introvert.

[Jamie Lang]

Introvert. Extrovert.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah. My wife is the same. I think I'm a. I'm an extrovert. I actually get energy from people and that's when I have to go and do an event or I have to do something. Even if I'm exhausted, it feeds me for whatever reason, if I'm around friends, feeds me. But my wife is the opposite. She actually is introverted, but in an extroverted world. And that was quite difficult for me to understand. I couldn't understand why she didn't want to go and meet all these people or have people around the house the whole time or be the center of attention. She's like, no, I don't want any of that. Yeah, I just want to do my work and be this and entertain, have fun and be a kind person. But I don't need that attention. I think I needed all of that because I thought that was gonna, like, fill my cup in a way.

[Alex Jones]

I think my husband's like, that. He loves. He's like, well, let's just get people over. And I'm like, oh, my God, here we go. It's just a Sunday, though. Can't we just sit here on our own? And he loves people he loves parties. Even now, if we go anywhere together, I'll be like, you go first. And he's like, this is your job. What are you talking about?

[Jamie Lang]

It is, Alex.

[Alex Jones]

But I'll hold his hand and he'll go, all right, then. And then he'll walk in, start chatting, and then I'll be okay.

[Jamie Lang]

But actually, you're the most warm, open person. And so you, you, you. I would say. If I. I would say you were like a lantern. Like, you. Like. People like to come to you and they feel comfortable around you and you draw them in, but actually you're the opposite aside, you're saying, I don't. I don't want that.

[Alex Jones]

But I love people. I love friends. I love people who I feel comfortable with. But if you. If you say, oh, do you want to go to this party or this premiere or this. No, thank you. I mean, it's just. Hell, I think I'd rather be in the kitchen having a glass of wine with my friends. Really good friends.

[Jamie Lang]

So when you're 15, 16, 17, who was the first person you kissed?

[Alex Jones]

His name was Gary.

[Jamie Lang]

Okay.

[Alex Jones]

Which Jamie. I mean, even when I say that out loud, you know, Gary wasn't a name. That little boy's hat, was it?

[Jamie Lang]

No.

[Alex Jones]

Who looks at a baby and goes, gary?

[Jamie Lang]

I know, I know. But it may be that there are a few. Gary's out. Gary Neville and things. So Gary was like a. Maybe a popular name back then.

[Alex Jones]

It was. But then it was still too old for Gary, even then. And I remember he was. He was a lovely boy. He was in primary school with me as well, and he bought me a perfume for Christmas. You know, one of these sets where you had, like, the shower gel on the perfume.

[Jamie Lang]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Alex Jones]

And I just thought, this is it. I love boys. They buy you stuff, make you feel nice and pretty. But it was really funny because I think, you know, when you think, oh, what sort of child was I? Because I knew this question was going to come up and I was kind of this painfully shy child, but yet I remember using Dad's calculator and pretending it was a phone by my bed. And when I went to bed, I'd pretend I was in a hotel and I'd order room service with this phone that was a calculator. So I think I had ideas of, like, I knew there must be more to life. You know, I had these ideas. I mean, I loved watching films, and I just think I was kind of stuck in this kind of little West Whalien town, but I always thought there's more out there than this. So quietly, kind of, I guess, ambitious.

[Jamie Lang]

And then when you were thinking that when you're in, did you. Because I spoke to Luke Evans. Oh, lovely.

[Alex Jones]

We love Luke.

[Jamie Lang]

Luke Evans is amazing. And he also. Also grew up in sort of a little town, and he realized there was something more out there, but not really understanding how to get to it. And you felt the same way. You knew there was something bigger, there was better out there, because what did you want to do?

[Alex Jones]

Well, I wanted.

[Jamie Lang]

I mean, because you were a ballet dancer.

[Alex Jones]

Well, I did ballet. I wasn't brilliant at it. It was all right, okay. But I loved performing, which then doesn't go with your personality, and that's really hard. So I wanted to be an actress. I was, like, desperate to be an actress. I thought, that's gonna be my ticket out of here. Every day I'd open the curtains and I could see the Black Mountains, right? And the Black Mountains, to some people are beautiful, but to me, they dark and forebording and, like, overbearing. And it was like. It was a wall. And I couldn't see past the Black Mountains to what was beyond it, so. And I always used to think, there's something. There's something over there and I want to get there. And I used to. The more it went on into my teens, the more frustrated I was feeling. I was like, I've got to get out of here.

[Jamie Lang]

The fact that your parents were so young, you know, having kids now, that is so young, so young, early 20s to bring up kids. I look back to myself when I was 21, 22, 23, 24. I didn't even know myself. No idea what I was doing.

[Alex Jones]

I mean, I was in, like, in a minibus, having been in Ritzy's and, you know, this was three in the morning, having been for chips with curry sauce and, you know, in a minibus with like, 12 other people from the small town where we were that were sharing the cost of, you know, going out to Swansea, which was like the Mecca of all things fun at that point. And Mum and Dad and I look back now as a parent, and I think. I'm sorry. So in awe of what you did for us, how you navigated us as small children and them as well, navigating their relationship with two young girls. That's so hard. I mean, we struggle now sometimes, and we Both in our 40s, you know, with a lot of sort of hindsight and experience, and they were doing it as really young people. But obviously the payoff Is that I'll be in a care home by the time my children are in uni. But, you know, they are young grandparents, you know, and can be really kind of active with our kids. But I think they were amazing.

[Jamie Lang]

Are you close to them?

[Alex Jones]

Really close, yeah. Like now I speak to them every day after the show. It's kind of our routine, you know. Yeah. And mum, she's sort of a no nonsense woman.

[Jamie Lang]

Okay.

[Alex Jones]

And I mean, they don't care who the guest is. They don't care. They're like, yeah, it's a nice show. He didn't have enough blusher on though. You look quite tired tonight. I mean, that's mum all over, like my mum, you know.

[Jamie Lang]

Your hair looks bad.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah. And then dad, Alan never gets to actually speak on the phone. He's just in the background. What did you think, Alan? Yeah, yeah. Mary. No, you're right. She looked a bit washed out, didn't she? Yeah, a bit washed out. Right. But they very, you know, they've, they're very good at. It's not that they do it on purpose, I say, but, you know, my feet would never leave the ground anyway. I'm not that kind of person. But it definitely, they definitely wouldn't with them.

[Jamie Lang]

Was there a period because when you, you move from Wales and you start into this world and into this career and into the sort of limelight and doing different things, was there a moment where. Which I had, I think with my family is that work and career and everything came first. And so what happens is I kind of didn't forget, but I thought I'm just going to not speak to my family as much because I. They weren't as important. And so I was just focusing on these. And I remember my mum saying to me, I never see you, I never speak to you, I don't know who you are anymore. And I remember thinking, and there was one point even when she, she got my face and said, who are you? She couldn't remember who I was because I was so distant.

[Alex Jones]

That makes me really sad as a mum now.

[Jamie Lang]

I was so distant. Did you ever go through a period of that y?

[Alex Jones]

I think, you know, the 20s. I think they like your lost years, aren't they?

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah.

[Alex Jones]

And I. Going back to the thing that I was so desperate to get out. I was. I didn't really like school, if I'm honest. School to me was just rain, wet, Going on buses to places I didn't want to go, being forced to do orchestra, which I hated. And I couldn't even I mean, I played the violin, but I couldn't follow the music. I just wasn't good enough. So I spent an hour every week in some God awful comprehensive school that wasn't mine, in Carmarthen on a Monday in wet weather, miming violin because I didn't know what was going on. I mean, what a waste of time. And all of this kind of added to the whole pot of, you know, I'm sure there must be something more fun than this. So as soon as I got out of school and I had good friends and a lot of school, I did like the social aspects. But actually school's a bit like jail, isn't it?

[Knox]

Yeah, it is.

[Jamie Lang]

I mean, especially if you're not into it.

[Alex Jones]

You've got to get up really early, you've got to wear an outfit you don't like. You know, there's a lot of doing stuff that you don't want to be doing. I get it, it's the system and, you know, that's what we all do. But afterwards I was just like, this is amazing. But I was thinking, so desperate to get going with life and be the adult I'd wanted to be since I was talking into the calculator and pretending it was, you know, the phone to room service that I just. Yeah, I think me and mum and dad maybe did lose a bit of connection at that point because I was just like, see you later, I'm off. And I did all these ridiculous jobs.

[Jamie Lang]

Like what?

[Alex Jones]

Oh, you can imagine. Signed up to an agency to do promo work. Classic Jamie. So on a weekend, I would be dressed in 70s gear and my job was to hand out hairspray, okay, and in a shopping center, you know, and after a couple of hours, I take the hairspray and ditch them in a skip around the corner, you know, this was, you know, I mean, I think a lot of people did that sort of job.

[Jamie Lang]

But you were hustling. But you were hustling. You wanted to earn money, you wanted to get out there, you wanted to, you wanted to become an adult.

[Alex Jones]

And I wanted to be independent. You know, I think we're all very influenced by what we watch on TV. And I guess this was the 90s and it was all kind of friends, Sex in the City. And I was like, I want one of those flats, one of those apartments, so I just need to work, you know. And then you get frustrated because that apartment's not happening. You're thinking, what am I doing wrong here? I wrote letters to everybody you can think of in television.

[Jamie Lang]

Get out of here.

[Alex Jones]

Oh, yeah, everybody. And I've still got all those replies. And some people did reply, wait, hang on a second.

[Jamie Lang]

So you had. You wanted to get into TV because you thought, this is going to be fun, this is going to be so. This glamour that. And this is so glamorous. This is past the mountains, this is exciting, this is fun. So I need to find a way of getting into it. So I'm going to reach out by. I have to do it myself. Because that's amazing that you knew you had to try and do it yourself. There was no one going to do it.

[Alex Jones]

Well, look, Mum and Dad, I mean, Mum worked in a bank. Dad was, was kind of a sales exec. They didn't know the first thing about telly. And you couldn't say out loud, in South Wales, I want to be a television presenter.

[Jamie Lang]

Well, because people would just be like.

[Alex Jones]

Get laughed after the welfare hall. I mean, don't be ridiculous. Absolutely not. Just because. Not that they weren't supportive, but it was just, it was too far from, you know, anything anybody could imagine.

[Jamie Lang]

What does that do to a young person when you're not. When something feels so unattainable?

[Alex Jones]

Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

Does that then make you go, well, does that lose that confidence that you should be. Should have as a kid? Because as a kid you want to sort of say you can do anything, you can achieve anything, but it feels like, because it was so unattainable, family, friends, everyone, you're never going to do that. You're gonna work here, you're gonna go and work in the school. And I feel like that happened to a lot of a generation.

[Alex Jones]

I think I was really lucky that Mum and Dad were those people who said, do something you love.

[Jamie Lang]

Great.

[Alex Jones]

So Mum had lost her mum when she was 16. And mum's an amazing person who could have done anything, but actually she had to run the house. Her sister had already gone to medical school, her little brother was, was 8 years old and her dad was running his own business and she had to become essentially the housewife. So she didn't get to do what she wanted. So she went to work in a bank. She was offered a job as a buyer for House of Fraser. And she was only like 18. And she would have been amazing. She's got impeccable taste. She would have been amazing. But she said, I couldn't do it because it meant being away from home. So I got a job as a cashier in a bank. And then she worked her way up to become manager and so she said, oh, I didn't have a choice. You've got a choice. Dad and I are here. Do something you love. And I think that was probably the biggest gift that I had was parents who just went, yeah, go for it.

[Jamie Lang]

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[Jamie Lang]

You know, one of the big things you've spoken about, which I find and I'm going to tread carefully here, right, you had kids later in life.

[Alex Jones]

I did. I was a dinosaur. Well, you're a kid, like a T. Rex giving birth.

[Jamie Lang]

You're not a dinosaur in any way whatsoever. But you did have kids in later life. And what I find interesting about that, right, is this, is that as a woman, it feels like if you decide to not have kids, people look, you get a strange reaction. Well, you don't have kids. Well, why wouldn't you want to have kids? And so then when you decide to have kids, even though it's later in life, people also go, well, you're having kids later in life. Well, that's a bit. So it's, it's a weird balance. You can't win.

[Alex Jones]

No, you can't win. The thing is, it just didn't crop up before it cropped up. Explain that to me. So, you know, you don't. Okay. You go through life and you might have a plan, you might have sort of a vague idea of. I mean, I remember thinking, oh, yeah, by 26, I'll have. Probably have my first child.

[Jamie Lang]

Okay.

[Alex Jones]

And then you get to 26, you don't know who you are. You're dating the wrong people.

[Jamie Lang]

Who are we dating?

[Alex Jones]

Some people that you may know. But, you know, I mean, in Wales there was kind of like three really handsome boys, so I dated them all. Somebody else with a Jones surname.

[Jamie Lang]

Okay.

[Alex Jones]

And actually a lovely boy, you know.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah, I get it.

[Alex Jones]

Like not marriage material. Right. And so. And you know, I've got a certain look, you know, I like an eyebrow. I do.

[Jamie Lang]

I like a dark hair. Exactly.

[Alex Jones]

Right.

[Jamie Lang]

Cool. Good looking.

[Alex Jones]

But we were the wrong people. Right. And we're having a lot of fun, but it's not time to have a baby.

[Jamie Lang]

But did you know that at the time? Because when you're in. Yeah, when you're in a relationship, I. You sometimes. When you're in a relationship in love and it's hectic and chaotic, sometimes you just think, well, maybe this is what every relationship is.

[Alex Jones]

Well, I was head over heels, really. It wasn't reciprocated. I think that's the nice way of putting it. But I was also having a lot of fun building this career, you know.

[Jamie Lang]

And your mum had told you, you need to build career and do it.

[Alex Jones]

Exactly.

[Jamie Lang]

And you realize your mum hadn't done that.

[Alex Jones]

Yes. So I felt so to be independent and I wanted to be financially independent. I thought, I've got a lot of work to do here before I can think about having a family. It kind of just wasn't on my radar at that point. Then you hit 30 and you think, surely at 30 I'll have a child. But then looking back, I mean, I was still a child at 30. You know, we went to New York as a group of girls. I just, you know, it was like Sex and the City dream, you know, And I still wasn't ready, but I was kind of thinking, I need to crack on with this.

[Jamie Lang]

But that's what I find interesting, is that you're not ready. But for biological reasons and other reasons, if you want, women get to a place where they think, well, I feel like I need to now because this is the moment which I feel like is a lot of unneeded pressure. It's sort of societal pressure at that age, almost.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah. But I think also I'd looked at Mum and Dad, and I still admire their relationship. You know, they recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They are still Mary and Alan. Mary and Alan.

[Jamie Lang]

Let's go.

[Alex Jones]

They are like, you know, they are the rock that holds us all together. And I wanted that, and I couldn't find that. And I was like, well, where's my Alan? You know? And also, you're kind of still busy doing. Building a career. And then I got the job that I still do today on the One Show. I was like, oh, my God, I'm in London now. This is amazing. You know, I. I wasn't ready to have a husband and children. And the thing is, you can't choose because you can't choose when you fall in love with a person that will become the father of your children. That person isn't necessarily there for you. At 27, at 31. You know, he came to me when I was 32, and then he won't mind me saying, he's very indecisive. So it took him a while to commit. Jamie, this is the thing. I had no hesitation. We had our first date.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah. Where? Set the scene.

[Alex Jones]

Well, so it's called the Swan. It's a pub in London, and it's where we ended up living for 12 years.

[Jamie Lang]

In the swab.

[Alex Jones]

Not in the pub. On the same road.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah.

[Alex Jones]

Okay. Okay. So we had our first date there. And I knew by drink number three, I was like, here he is.

[Jamie Lang]

Get out of here.

[Alex Jones]

I knew.

[Jamie Lang]

No, but, Alex, explain why. What did you feel?

[Alex Jones]

Because when I saw him and, you know, we'd met in a fancy dress party. Okay, right. And you were dressed as a cowboy. And a friend of mine was dating one of his housemates.

[Jamie Lang]

Okay.

[Alex Jones]

And she said, come to this house party with me. So off I went. And there he was, holding court, as he does in the middle of the kitchen in this ridiculous poncho and hat. And I thought, what a dick. Who is this super confident everything? I'm not in a party situation. And we had a chat, and I thought, yeah, all right, he's handsome. But. And there were actually a lot of handsome men in that house party. It was ideal as a single girl. And I came away with a few options. However, a couple of weeks later, I saw him again in my friend's birthday party, and he said, I'm sorry, we didn't really. You know, I didn't introduce myself properly. I'm Charles. Da, da, da da. He's very formal. Not really? But he sounded formal. He said, I'm Charles. I've never called him Charles. I called him Charles.

[Jamie Lang]

I know it sounds like it'd be a good idea to say hi.

[Alex Jones]

Do you know what I mean?

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah, I know.

[Alex Jones]

And he said, would you like to go for dinner? And I said, all right, then. And so we didn't go for dinner. In fact, we never ate on our sort of early dates. I don't think we ate for the first 20 dates because you just go and have drinks together because we just had so much fun. But on this first date, I saw him from a distance and I thought, God, he's so handsome. And he. He knew me immediately. I sat down and up until that point, I'd never been 100% myself. You know, I'd always kind of said what I thought I should say in order for them to like me. There was always a bit of myself, but not entirely myself. And he just went, that's not the right answer.

[Jamie Lang]

Made you feel uncomfortable.

[Alex Jones]

What do you really mean? And I said, ah. And he just knew. He has got a big bullshit filter.

[Jamie Lang]

Wow.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah. And he just knew. And he didn't care about what I did. He had his own thing going on, you know, he loved traveling. He was this confident person, and I was excited to be with him, and I still am, you know, And I just knew he's the one. And now he says, shit, why didn't we get married sooner? Because the conclusion would have been the same.

[Jamie Lang]

Because he was indecisive.

[Alex Jones]

That's why he was indecisive. And of course, actually, you know, he's from Auckland, and even though his parents are English, so technically he's English, He's English. And he'd been here for a long time, but he was due to go back because he was like, okay, I need to start settling down and I'm going back. And then we met, and I think it was kind of a bit of a spanner in the works for him. But eventually he relented, and in Morocco, he proposed. And, yeah, I mean, you know what it's like. Relationships are never plain sailing.

[Jamie Lang]

Never.

[Alex Jones]

They never, you know, and. And it wouldn't be fun if they were. You know, you need a bit of push and pull sometimes, I think, in a relationship. But he's, you know, he's. He's my life partner, but he didn't come to me until I was 32. And then the indecisiveness. And then we ended up having our first child when I was 38, and. But I Wouldn't change it. No. It's just how life happened, you know? And by then, I felt secure in my job. I mean, obviously, I still absolutely had a meltdown when I went off for maternity, thinking, oh, shit, did you really? Of course.

[Jamie Lang]

Because you thought someone was going to take it.

[Alex Jones]

I love my job and I really respect it and I appreciate it and I'm grateful for it. And I thought I, oh, my God, they're gonna get somebody in and that'll be it. I'll never be seen again. It was a hard thing to step away.

[Jamie Lang]

Wow. And I was only on you worried you were gonna be forgotten.

[Alex Jones]

Yes. And replaced. You know, I mean, I still feel replaceable all the time, even though, bless them, they go to great lengths all the time to say, but you're not.

[Jamie Lang]

You're not replaceable.

[Alex Jones]

But I always feel like I have to be on top of it and, you know, bring a game all the time.

[Jamie Lang]

That's a good thing, though. At the same time, I think it is, because if you become. If you start treading water in any job that you do, then that's when you kind of start to become lazy. You need to leave. And the fact that you're constantly doing that and that almost fear of being replaced keeps you driving forward and becoming a better version of you as a presenter the whole time.

[Alex Jones]

And I think that's the thing. People ask, why are you still there? And I'm like, well, I'm not board. I still feel like I need to prove myself. And you only need to leave when you feel like you're done 15 years. I know.

[Jamie Lang]

Congratulations.

[Alex Jones]

Thank you.

[Jamie Lang]

That is amazing.

[Alex Jones]

It is amazing. And, you know, I've grown up in front of our audience. I mean, literally, from being in a bloody cowboy costume at 32, you know, looking for a husband in house parties in kind of West London, to becoming a wife, to becoming a mum. They've seen it all.

[Jamie Lang]

The one thing I do want to talk about is we have a lot of people on the show who speak about their mental health and it's about anxiety and depression and what they've been through. And a lot of the time, we often don't have people who talk about supporting people with mental health and you very bravely and openly. And I know it's his story and his thing, so I don't know how much you want to share, but your husband dealt with his own. Has dealt with his own mental health issues. How have you found that experience as someone who's trying to support someone in that position?

[Alex Jones]

I think you know, when I was growing up, and we've talked about Mum and Dad, amazing people, but there wasn't a lot of understanding about mental health. And when you look back at your own life, there are periods where you can see that you would have been going through something. You know, the attitude in. In our house very much has been, get on with it. You know, that's kind of. That's.

[Jamie Lang]

Get on with it.

[Alex Jones]

Get on with it.

[Jamie Lang]

Don't talk about it. Move on.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah, move on. It's just a bad day. Move on. But there have been periods now where I can look back kind of mid-20s, early-30s, and sometimes triggered by a breakup, sometimes triggered by disappointment at work where there's been quite a dark period.

[Jamie Lang]

You felt depressed.

[Alex Jones]

And I don't know, I don't want to say depressed, because I've seen it in other people, and I wouldn't. I feel like my disposition is quite happy, and I'm quite good at dealing with things internally and moving on and moving through it. And I think some people aren't lucky. They can't do that, you know?

[Jamie Lang]

I know.

[Alex Jones]

And I think sometimes the truth of it is it you have to sometimes witness it close up to really understand what depression is.

[Jamie Lang]

Because when it gets a grip on.

[Alex Jones]

Them, you know, I think a lot of people say, oh, I feel a bit depressed. And it's difficult because a lot of people really do. But I didn't understand it, and I can only speak from my perspective. I didn't really. I thought I'd been depressed, but then I saw it and I thought, no, I haven't.

[Jamie Lang]

That is really profound, Alice, because I think a lot of us feel like we are depressed or anxious, but we can keep doing lots of different things. And at work, I feel a bit depressed. Is that when you truly see it, when you see someone who is really suffering, you go, wow. No, that is. That is it.

[Alex Jones]

And, you know, I mean, I've seen it in friends, I've seen it in work colleagues. And so my relationship with how I perceive depression has changed a lot because, you know, I love listening to lots of different podcasts. And of course, it's brought up a lot, isn't it? And anxiety and all the rest of it. And I think we have to be really careful about making light of it, because sometimes I think when people are able to be on a podcast and talk about it, if they're talking about it, in hindsight, that's okay, but in the present moment, I find that hard, because actually, if you've seen it in action. You know, that there's no way that somebody can get themselves together to get in a cab, to get to a recording studio and be comfortable to talk about it on a podcast. I don't know. So I've got a very odd relationship with it. I've seen it, and now I feel like I understand it when you're.

[Jamie Lang]

When you're seeing it and you're experiencing it. By the way, I'm in total agreement with you. When someone is in that darkness, they can't get themselves out of it and they can't do anything. No, but what advice would you give for people who are around someone who is struggling?

[Alex Jones]

Gosh, I mean, that's hard because I don't know whether I did the right thing. But I think all you can do is see. People say, don't judge, but we all judge. We're always judging. We are judging constantly. But you have to let go of judgment at that point completely. And I found it really hard. I had to bite my tongue so hard from saying, come on, but just.

[Jamie Lang]

Come on, come on, come on, come.

[Alex Jones]

On, come on, come on, let's go for a walk. Come on, let's. Oh, my God. I was doing it so wrong.

[Jamie Lang]

I know, I know, I know. It's so hard. And I have family member. I have a family member who was experiencing. I just said, come on, let's. Come on, let's get. Come on, let's go. It can.

[Alex Jones]

You know, And I said to a friend, come on, we can go. Let's go for a drink. Come on, let's go for a drink, have a chat. Don't be so ridiculous. This person could not get out of bed, let alone put some clothes on and go for a drink. You know, I hadn't understood it, and that's my own failing.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah. And it's not your failing. No, it's not understanding. It's very hard to understand what someone else is going through. What happens is also is, I think when it's in that situation, when someone is so close to you, it almost feeds into you as well. And so then what happens is their emotions become your emotions. You start to mirror them. And that's not helpful as well.

[Alex Jones]

No.

[Jamie Lang]

And then it becomes hard. And you didn't run away. And a lot of people. But, Alex, a lot of people. A lot of people in experiences like that would run away. And that means so much. The fact that you stood there, that you helped, that you were there as the solid the whole time. That speaks a thousand words.

[Alex Jones]

But I think the thing Is, though, you know. You know, also, we all know that. I mean, for me, anyway. I mean, I'd never run because we've made a deal and we don't run from each other. You know, we face it all head on.

[Jamie Lang]

Love that.

[Alex Jones]

And we have faced a lot of fun stuff, and we'll face really hard stuff, and, you know, this will be life. That is life. You know, it's up and down. But I don't run. We're not a family of runners. We stick and we dig in and we do it. But I think the other thing is, if you know that person, you know that it's an illness, it's not them.

[Jamie Lang]

Yes.

[Alex Jones]

You know, and I've been blessed to have kind of a pretty sunny disposition, really, you know. Yeah. Okay. There are bad days, but I really love life. Like, I love life. I love the mundane shit about life, like, happy, and not everybody's like that. But, you know, it's also. It can be a phase, you know, everything is a phase. Life is a bloody phase. Shall pass, you know, this too shall pass. And it does, but you've just got to dig in for that, for that time.

[Jamie Lang]

And that is exactly. And one foot from the other. Just keep going. Yeah, keep going. Don't give up. Keep going.

[Alex Jones]

I still don't know if I saw it again in a family member, a friend. I still don't know whether I do the right thing, but I now understand it better than I did. You know, I was kind of in Mum and Dad's mentality of. Right, come on. Should we. Can we move this on?

[Jamie Lang]

That's really odd. It's not that, but it's so honest and beautiful that you. That. That you sort of recognize that in a way. And actually, you're just. I think. I think sometimes also that is quite good advice. You okay? We're going to get through this. You've got to help yourself. We got to go. We got to go. We got it. And it is a disease and it is illness, but that support and constant returning factor, we've got to get through this. Push people, they. Pushes people to a sort of more positive place sometimes.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah. And I think, you know, with our experience, I mean, you know, I mean, Charlie's great now, and it was kind of a. It was quite fleeting, really, you know, again, blown up by the press, you know, of course, but it was definitely a taste of something that I hadn't seen before and changed my perception. And it just made me think of all the people that are paralyzed by it, you know, all the time and can't get out of it. And I think sometimes we all make light of it a little bit and talk about it and think, oh, we're talking about it. So there we are. It's fine. We're talking about it. Had a good chat about anxiety. And I'm like, oh, really? No, it's, you know, they paralyzed by it. And you've experienced horrible, horrible illness.

[Jamie Lang]

Do you feel in your career, in your time, 15 years in the One show and doing all the stuff you're doing, do you still feel like it's just beginning? I'm just starting.

[Alex Jones]

Oh, my God. A hundred percent.

[Jamie Lang]

Isn't that amazing?

[Alex Jones]

I'm excited by life. Like, I prefer being in my 40s than any other decades.

[Jamie Lang]

Apparently, it's the best decade.

[Alex Jones]

Well, so far, so good.

[Jamie Lang]

Okay, good.

[Alex Jones]

Because I understand who I am. I didn't know who I was. I was trying to please other people all the time. And now I know what my job is. First of all, mum of three. That, like, fills a lot of my time. And I like being busy, so that suits my personality. I know what my job is on the show, and I still love it and still really respect it and try hard at it. And I want to be a good wife, and I want to be a good friend, and I want to be a good daughter. And really, then you're kind of at capacity. You're busy then. And I love being busy, but it's busy with all the good stuff, you know? I mean, there'll be times on the show, like when Michael Buble said to me, right, come on, Alex, come and sing this one with me. And I love Michael Buble. But, Jamie, I didn't love Michael Buble enough. Cause in the moment, I was like, shit, I don't know the verse. I only know the chorus. So I was doing, like, was it.

[Jamie Lang]

Home or something like that? Yeah, yeah.

[Alex Jones]

And I was doing, like, club singing next to him. And this was live on television. I was like, fuck, this is awful. But, you know. And there'd be moments like that. But that's all the fun.

[Jamie Lang]

Amazing.

[Alex Jones]

That's like the tapestry of life, you know? Sometimes I'd be like, with the kids in the morning. They'd be really. I mean, you're about to experience all this. It's amazing, right? It's amazing, but it's hard as hell, right? And you're like, this is like an endurance test. What is going on? Like, I've told this story before, but there was. I took my middle son to IKEA and He threw a wok down the escalator. Right. And I don't know whether you've ever heard a walk go down an escalator, but fuck, it's loud. Right. And I was there and all these people, like, her kids are out of control.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah. And they judge you.

[Alex Jones]

They judge you. Right.

[Jamie Lang]

You're a terrible parent.

[Alex Jones]

And I'm like, kit. And then the next minute you're in the one show and then you've got like, you know, a sofa of people that you're like, wow. I mean, you know. But I'm sort of not starstruck as well, and I think you can't be starstruck to do the job. I'm just interested in people and I like a conversation.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah.

[Alex Jones]

But. But then, you know, so you'll go from that in the morning to, like, a sofa full of people and then, you know. But then home to do mundane stuff, you know, empty the dishwasher, get the school bags ready. I like the variety.

[Jamie Lang]

You like that busyness and. The busyness and then. And being useful. Being a mum, being. Being your.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

The presenter. You are being. That is what life.

[Alex Jones]

Life is.

[Jamie Lang]

Is. Yeah. Can I. Can I ask you something about the one show.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

And you. You. You probably. You can dance around it and move away, but there's. It has been a revolving door of presenters.

[Alex Jones]

It has.

[Jamie Lang]

And more recently, there's been a bit of a. There was a sort of issue that came up with one of the presenters being supposedly inappropriate.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

As a presenter, as a colleague, as probably a friend. How do you handle that?

[Alex Jones]

So I think it's good to talk about these things as well. 100%.

[Jamie Lang]

It is.

[Alex Jones]

You know, it was a situation where. And I'll tell you the honest truth.

[Jamie Lang]

From my perspective, and this is with Jermaine Genus.

[Alex Jones]

It is. And JJ and I had become good friends. He'd started presenting and I didn't know him at all. I don't know anything, I'm sorry to say, about football. And I actually asked him, so have you ever played professionally? I mean, imagine. Poor boy.

[Jamie Lang]

Jermaine Genus.

[Alex Jones]

Okay. And he was so polite and he went, oh, you know, I've done a bit. I was like, oh, so, like, you know, like what? And he went, I played for Spurs. And I was like, oh, no. Oh, no, England. Oh, no. But he was very nice about it. But on this. This particular occasion, I was the last to know, I think.

[Jamie Lang]

Wow.

[Alex Jones]

I mean, we didn't know. So the team had no idea we'd been off on a summer break and this had all been done and dusted by the time we came back. And I thought he was taking extended holiday. So I was like, where's jj? They were like, oh, you know, he's going to take an extra week. Nobody really knew. And actually the BBC dealt with it and I think if people feel uncomfortable, they have to deal with it 100%.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

I agree with you.

[Alex Jones]

You know, if it was my daughter, Jamie, and I mean, Annie's only just turned four, but if it was my daughter and she was at work in whatever industry and she felt uncomfortable, I would hope to God that I'd given her the tools to be able to speak up. And if she was brave enough to speak up, because it is a brave thing to do, I would hope that that company, corporation, whoever, would deal with it. And that's what happened. And I think that is the only way forward these days, as you, you.

[Jamie Lang]

Put that amazingly well. And it's true. And it has to be like that because I think, and especially, especially in the world of television where we've seen numerous times where people have a lot of weight in the industry because they bring in views or they bring in audiences and it hasn't really been dealt with and perhaps people have been inappropriate or said the wrong thing or behaved the wrong way and it's kind of been swept under the carpet because while they bring in the audience, they do this, they do that, and actually people have to be held accountable. They have to be.

[Alex Jones]

I think he's right. You know, I mean, I've always had to behave appropriately. I mean, not that I would never not behave appropriately, but, you know what I mean, it comes with responsibility. Like, you know, if you are a public figure, which we all are to all intents and purposes, if you're in a position to influence at all, if you've been given a platform, your responsibility is to be careful with that platform, 100%. And, and I think it's that clear cut.

[Jamie Lang]

And this is. But, you know, growing up in that television world and being in the time and you've always, everyone's always behaved respectfully towards you and everyone's been great towards you and you've. That's an amazing experience then.

[Alex Jones]

I mean, I can't. You know, lots of journalists have always tried in the wake of this, you know, I've asked, have you ever had experiences that are uncomfortable? I mean, if you go back to kind of the 90s, early 2000s, there were stuff, and there were ways that things were said that weren't great, but nothing has stuck with me, nothing has kind of nothing makes me shudder. Nothing. You know, and that's important. It's really important. And I know the type of girl I was then and I wouldn't have handled it. You know, I mean, I was green. I was really naive. And yeah, I think it would have had a really profound effect on me. So I was lucky not to have had that.

[Jamie Lang]

And you were, you were driven and you. And it's one of those things that if you were worried that your job would be.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah. On the line.

[Jamie Lang]

On the line. You wouldn't have said anything.

[Alex Jones]

No, I wouldn't have.

[Jamie Lang]

No. And do you know what? Even being. I cannot even position myself in that. But just knowing my mentality and thinking maybe if I was a woman in that position, I wouldn't say. I wouldn't have said it.

[Alex Jones]

No, I def. I know I definitely wouldn't have. Yeah. And so I've got a lot of respect for the girls that did.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah.

[Alex Jones]

Because I think it is an incredibly brave thing to do.

[Jamie Lang]

Really brave. Because it's very scary when you're in that position.

[Alex Jones]

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[Jamie Lang]

Why choose a sleep number Smart bed.

[Alex Jones]

Can I make my site softer?

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Can I make my site firmer? Can we sleep cooler?

[Jamie Lang]

Sleep number does that cools up to times faster and lets you choose your ideal comfort on either side your sleep number setting. Enjoy personalized comfort for better sleep night after night. It's our Black Friday sale. Recharge this season with a bundle of cozy soothing comfort. Now only $17.99 for our C2 mattress and base plus free premium delivery. Price is higher in Alaska and Hawaii. Check it out at a sleep number store or sleepnumber.com today. Honestly, I'm such a fan of yours like I truly am. Like, you know watching the One show and growing up and doing 15 years is just incredible and I really appreciate giving your time to come on here. We like to end the podcast with quick fire. Eight questions. You ready for this?

[Alex Jones]

Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

What's a saying or phrase that makes you smile or cheers you up?

[Alex Jones]

Oh, God. Right, so bear with. Okay. But I was thinking about this and I think so they're two Welsh ones, right? So one is Dross benchestri, which when translated it literally means over the dishes and it means when somebody's gone too far. The other one is Sen any dat en, which is I wouldn't shock a potato. Like. They make no sense, Jamie. But they make me really smile because they are so ridiculous.

[Jamie Lang]

And it's home.

[Alex Jones]

It's home.

[Jamie Lang]

Best compliment anyone's ever given you, without a doubt.

[Alex Jones]

My 6 year old son said the other night we were off to the National Television Awards, which to me is like hell on earth. And he said, mama, you look so pretty. And it doesn't. Nobody could say it for the rest of my life. But the fact that Kit said it, that will stick with me forever.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah, that's amazing.

[Alex Jones]

He's a lovely little boy. Even though he's got tendencies, even though.

[Jamie Lang]

He'S throw walks on Eska. What scares you most about yourself?

[Alex Jones]

Oh, I think it's this constant need to be moving and doing things.

[Jamie Lang]

It's a good thing.

[Alex Jones]

I mean, I cannot watch a television program. I'll have to be doing something else on the side. Drives my husband mad.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah. But it's, it drives you forward. It's a good thing. When was the last time you cried?

[Alex Jones]

I think it was a week ago when my 4 year old started school. Oh, Jamie, be ready for it. I fell apart. I was good. I managed to get her in through the door and the minute I turned my back, it was like my world just caved in. It was the last one going to school and we sat in the car. Oh my gosh, it makes me cry now. Charlie and I sat in the car and we just. I mean, he wasn't sobbing quite like me, but he did definitely have a tear in his eye. And he said, you know, Al, we've got time now. We can go and have a walk and a coffee together. Which of course is lovely, but I was like, it's my last baby. I know. I'm so jealous of you starting.

[Jamie Lang]

Really?

[Alex Jones]

Yeah. I mean, I can't. Yeah. I love being a parent. It's absolutely the best.

[Jamie Lang]

Cause you have. So I promise you, you have so much love to give and you can feel it coming from you.

[Alex Jones]

Oh. I mean, those three. I honestly, I, I'm. I'm already having anxiety about them being bigger. So I look at them in the Nitra. And I'll be looking at them and I'm like, I think Kit's grown, Charlie. I think he's grown. And he's like, it's a good thing, Al. It means we feeding them the right food. You know, they. They move in through life as they go. I don't want them to move through life. I want them to stay with me. Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

What's something you can't let go of?

[Alex Jones]

Oh, so much stuff. I mean, I'm not a hoarder. My husband is a hoarder. Terrible. Do you know we've got his uncle's dog blanket in the loft? That's disgusting. Dog blanket.

[Jamie Lang]

His uncle's.

[Alex Jones]

His uncle's dog blanket. That's awful. So I'm not that level, but things I can't let go of. Are you? I could never get rid of any photographs because they, you know, they just so I think. I don't have printed out photographs anymore, but the ones I have of kind of the 90s, I really want to keep hold of them. The other things I can't get rid of are the children's baby clothes. I mean, you'd have to, like, fight me to the death for them. No charity shit.

[Jamie Lang]

And you're not a hoarder.

[Alex Jones]

But I'm not a hoarder. Some things I can. I can't.

[Jamie Lang]

Okay.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

What's your guilty pleasure?

[Alex Jones]

Oh, so many. Love is blind currently.

[Jamie Lang]

So good.

[Alex Jones]

Love is blind uk.

[Jamie Lang]

So good.

[Alex Jones]

That is the program. But I don't have to do anything else that I can watch.

[Jamie Lang]

So good.

[Alex Jones]

It's won me over.

[Jamie Lang]

It's so good. What turns you off?

[Alex Jones]

Oh, rude people.

[Jamie Lang]

Yeah.

[Alex Jones]

People with a chip on their shoulder. Don't want to be here. Leave.

[Jamie Lang]

What turns you on?

[Alex Jones]

Oh, I love people that want to have a good conversation and, like, go. Forget the surfacey stuff. Want to go deep.

[Jamie Lang]

What do you like most about yourself?

[Alex Jones]

Oh, come on. See, this goes back to the beginning.

[Jamie Lang]

I know.

[Alex Jones]

I. I like that. I'm easily pleased in terms of. It doesn't have to be fancy holidays, fancy hotels. I am happy with the people I love doing something super boring. Like if I'm on a Sunday making an apple crumble and I am not Mary Berry, right. I'm a shit cook. But if I'm making an apple crumble with the kids in the kitchen and they are fighting with a little wooden swords, for me, that is perfect. It would give other people a headache. But that's where I feel happier.

[Jamie Lang]

Bonus one, Teach me a Welsh swear Word and make it rude.

[Alex Jones]

I was going to say fuck off, but obviously that's just English. Okay. Oh, this is good. So the word for a jellyfish in Welsh is contamor. Say contamor.

[Jamie Lang]

Contamor.

[Alex Jones]

Okay. That means cunt of the sea.

[Jamie Lang]

Alex Haynes, you're amazing. We love you to this. Thank you so much. Alex, you're amazing. That was. I can give you a hug. I hope you enjoyed the episode today. Wow. Alex Jones is incredible. She. It's a real. The only way to describe this is that, you know, we always talk about having radiators and drains in our life, right? The drains are the one that pull you down, the radiators that really warm you up. Alex Jones is a complete radiator. She makes you feel good. She has an energy about her. And again, what I always find from all of our guests, the people who are successful are the ones who have grinded it and worked hard to get there. Alex came from a small town in Wales and has now been hosting the One show for 15 years that sued graft and hard work and talent. And she's really thankful of her career. I think we forget when we become successful in whatever job we're doing, doesn't matter what it is, the success becomes the norm. And if we could speak to our younger self and say, imagine if you could speak to your younger self and say, this is what you're going to achieve in 10, 15, 20 years, it would blow your mind. So we've always got to resort back to our younger self and think, what would your younger self be thinking if you were in this situation right now? And we forget that because life is too quick. And Alex is one of those people who is always thankful for her success. Alex, thank you for coming on. Thank you for sharing. This episode reminded me when I sat down with Rylan, another icon in the TV world. And Ryland spoke about his career, he spoke about X Factor, which he just wasn't ashamed of. And Rylan is one of those people who is so excited to be doing what he does in life. It's a real breath of fresh air. So if you like this episode with Alex Jones, you'll love the episode of Ryland. You can go and click on the show description where the episode is and it'll take you to that episode. And to give you a little teaser, here is what you can expect from the episode with Rylan.

[Knox]

Have you.

[Jamie Lang]

Have you always been this kind of charismatic, kind of larger than life character? I mean, I've always been the same person, but there's definitely like, two of me. Like, I think I'm pretty boring. Really. Yeah. I think I'm a bit of a bore. You're not a bit of a bore.

[Knox]

I am.

[Jamie Lang]

Our agent is over there nodding his head. I'm not this, like, party boy that everyone thinks I am. Yeah, but I don't think you're a party boy. But like, I, I would say this. Like, I definitely. There are, there are, there are so many sides to everybody. Right. Like people who say there's one side with your family, there's one side with your friends, there's one side. You're at work and there's one side. Maybe you're in your relationship. Yeah. And you definitely sort of, you know, especially Ben 4 faces. Yeah, exactly. But also in this, like, life of, like, presenting in tv, you kind of have to have.

[Alex Jones]

Yeah.

[Jamie Lang]

Like, Riley is a bit of a character, really. Definitely. Yeah. But it's a lot of Ross. But like, Ross on Crap back. Yeah. But as a kid though, growing up. Oh, I was that, like, ginger kid that was like, feisty little bastards. Yeah. I'd be the one at, like, family parties, like, getting up on the chair and doing a little routine. Spice Girls. Why my aunts. While my brother's sitting there going, I wish you like football. Okay, we'll see you next week for another episode on Wednesday of Great Company.

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[Jamie Lang]

Why choose a sleep number? Smart bed.

[Alex Jones]

Can I make my sight softer?

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Can I make my sight firmer? Can we sleep cooler?

[Jamie Lang]

Sleep number does that cools up to eight times faster and lets you choose your ideal comfort on either side. Your sleep number setting. Enjoy personalized comfort for better sleep night after night. It's our Black Friday sale. Recharge this season with a bundle of cozy, soothing comfort. Now only $17.99 for our C2 mattress and base plus free premium delivery price is higher in Alaska and Hawaii. Check it out at a Sleep number store or sleepnumber.com today.

[Alex Jones]

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