‘I have a MAJOR CASE of IMPOSTER SYNDROME’

A decade after joining The One Show, Alex Jones opens up about trying to be the best mum, dealing with self-doubt and her Bake Off disaster that ended with stitches

‘I HAVE A MAJOR CASE OF IMPOSTER SYNDROME’ Alex Jones talks motherhood, marriage and finding inner confidence

Spending time with Alex Jones, you get the distinct impression that this is a woman who’s entered her prime. She’s as cheery and talkative as you might expect from someone who entertains up to 5m viewers on a chat show each day, but also seems at ease with herself, transitioning from one outfit to the next at our cover shoot with such a sense of fun that you’re almost tempted to join in. You’d hardly believe she’d been up before the crack of dawn nursing a baby.

It’s a big year for Alex, 42. She’s celebrating her 10th year co-hosting BBC One’s The One Show, the job that saw her relocate from her native Wales to London and turned her into a household name. It was also the catalyst to meeting her husband, insurance broker Charlie Thomson. They met at a party and now have two sons: Teddy, three, and Kit, born last May. ‘The show has been a real linchpin of the happiest time in my life,’ says Alex.

And this month, TV viewers will see her taking on another challenge, as she dons her apron for The Great Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer. By the sounds of it, there will be plenty of surprises in store! But while Alex is bright and breezy, it’s clear that she doesn’t take her success for granted. She talks frankly about dealing with anxiety, and the struggle to find the energy to juggle her high-profile career and spending time with her husband and two young children.

How is life in your 40s treating you?

I remember Mum and Dad turning 40 and I thought they were dinosaurs. But life is so different now – 40 feels like it’s the beginning of your life, rather than the middle of it. And now I have friends turning 50 who I look at and think, ‘Well, that’s not how I thought 50 would look!’ There’s been this incredible shift where getting older now looks, and feels, pretty cool.

In GH we talk a lot about ‘midlife kickass’ and doing new activities. What makes you feel kickass?

Being a 40-something parent to two young kids! Forget extreme sports, you need a hell of a lot of stamina to be a mum to a baby and a toddler. People say to me, ‘Are you back exercising?’ and I’m like, ‘No, because I don’t have time and also I don’t need to, because you should see how many times I go up and down the stairs in a day!’

So having a second child has been an adjustment…

It’s complete madness. I can only describe it as being like an endurance test, and some days I want to run away on a plane to Mallorca on my own. But seeing two little people who you’ve created interact and play is just incredible. They’ve started to roll around on the floor laughing at each other. Watching that is the best feeling.

How has it been different second time round?

I took a lot longer off work this time because I wanted to absorb it more. Charlie is adamant that for the sake of the planet, two children is enough. And I think I’m too old to have another child now, anyway. It happens for a lot of people and good for them, but we’re just glad we have two healthy children.

You took three months’ maternity leave after your first baby. Do you wish you’d taken longer?

Definitely. I’d made unrealistic promises before I went off to have a baby. I’d never had a child before; I had no idea. And I had this fear that it would interfere, that I’d have to compromise my work life. I now realise that was ridiculous because, in fact, I think it makes you better at work. It makes you a little bit more resilient, which is what you have to be in this industry. And in life!

You’re celebrating 10 years on The One Show this year. How does that feel?

I can’t quite believe it. Where did that time go? Without a doubt, it’s been the best decade of my life. But even after all this time, I still have a major case of imposter syndrome. I’m constantly waiting for somebody to go, ‘Er, actually, hang on a minute, we’ve made a terrible mistake here.’ I’m convinced I’m going to get that call.

You appear unflappable on screen…

I make mistakes very often – I’ve got people’s names wrong countless times. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that if you’re honest about it and you don’t try to cover it up, then it’s okay. I’m no longer frightened of just being myself and owning up to mistakes – and that’s a really nice feeling.

What’s it like saying goodbye to Matt Baker, your co-host on The One Show?

I was shocked and gutted when I found out he was leaving. We don’t have that typical chemistry that people talk about – we definitely don’t fancy each other! But we do share a real respect for one another and we have a familiarity that’s hard to replicate; I can second-guess what he’s about to say, even without looking at him. They’re big boots to fill.

Do you think there are still glass ceilings and walls holding back women in your industry?

I think sometimes we’re guilty of putting pressure on ourselves by saying we need to break glass ceilings; you never hear a man say that – they just go out and do whatever they want. A lot of it is to do with confidence. Women are amazing and sometimes we need to remind ourselves of that. We’re juggling more balls than ever before and we’re all doing pretty damn well just to keep our heads above water.

You joined forces with other women at the BBC demanding action to close the gender pay gap.

I hate confrontation, but if you feel in your heart of hearts that something isn’t right, you have to speak up and the right people will listen and not make the conversation difficult. Considering how far the world has moved on, it’s insane to think that one person would be paid any different to the person sitting next to them doing the same job because of their gender. I wouldn’t want my boys to grow up in a world where that was the case.

What made you decide to do Celebrity Bake Off?

I thought it would be a good laugh! I’ve watched the show since it started, but I’m terrible at baking. When they asked me, I said, ‘Look, are you sure because I’m really bad?’ and they replied, ‘You’ll be great!’ My husband used to be a chef, so he was really stressing beforehand, saying, ‘Right, if you need to make pastry, here are the basics.’ None of it went in! Let’s just say it wasn’t like the show I’ve seen, where people produce these incredible cakes. I barely made anything edible.

Did you have any disasters?

Oh yes! They had these fancy electric mixers where you attach the glass bowl, put the whisk in and press go. It turns out my bowl wasn’t attached and the minute the blade hit it, the bowl shattered into 1,000 pieces. I’m saying, ‘I’m absolutely fine,’ before realising there’s a massive shard of glass sticking out of my hand. I had to go straight off to the paramedic for stitches. He said, ‘I’m just going to put in the anaesthetic,’ and I was like, ‘No, there’s no time for that, I have a showstopper to make, just do it!’

What did you learn from taking part?

That I should probably buy my cakes!

What else do you want to achieve in your career?

The main thing – and it’s difficult to achieve in an industry that’s notoriously fickle – is longevity. For me, it’s not about doing some big entertainment show, it’s about staying where I am. That’s the hardest thing: staying relevant, staying good enough. I think about that every day. I worry about it, though not to the extreme, because I really value my job and I’d like to stay in it a good while longer.

Do you think women can have it all?

For me personally, some days I don’t think it’s possible. It’s a struggle. I try to be the best mother I can be, but some days I’m absolutely awful at it. Life isn’t this series of perfect days where work is going amazingly and you’re a brilliant wife – I’m a terrible wife at the minute! Poor Charlie has been pushed to one side because the children take precedence and slowly we’re learning how

I’m generally quite an upbeat person, but I do struggle with anxiety

to be a couple again. That’s realistic and that’s how it is for everybody, I think, but people are just too scared to say it.

So has parenting changed your relationship?

It’s made a massive difference. Charlie sometimes says, ‘You’re not as fun as you used to be.’ He’s joking, but I’m thinking, ‘Shut up, I can’t drink wine until 4am and then get up at 6am!’ But while kids can sometimes tear you apart, they can also really glue you together, and when things are really tough, we’ll look at the boys and both say, ‘Gosh, aren’t we lucky?’ And we truly are.

How do you keep the spark alive?

A lot of the time, we forget to look after each other because our focus is elsewhere. But every so often, one of us will say, ‘We haven’t been out for a drink or dinner in a while.’ All it takes is a couple of hours together to reset ourselves. We recently went to a hotel called The Pig in the New Forest, which was a lovely chance to reconnect with each other. We had cheese and biscuits and a glass of red wine by the fire. It’s always hard leaving the boys, but you need those times to remember who your partner in crime is in all of this.

What has marriage taught you?

It’s taught me that if you choose to journey through life with a person and be with them for the long term, you have to be realistic and know that sometimes you’re not going to feel like you love each other, and sometimes you won’t agree with one another. As long as you have respect for each other, and you want each other to be happy, and as long as you’re friends, you can forgive a lot. That’s certainly true for Charlie and me.

You’ve spoken about having a miscarriage between having Teddy and Kit. How did you cope with that?

It was horrendous. You feel ecstatic and then suddenly, it’s all gone. We were given the bad news and, like a lot of women, I went straight back to do my job because in a sense, I thought, ‘What else are we going to do? Go home and wallow? It is what it is, it’s done.’ Of course, it then hits you later. Charlie and I were lucky that our relationship was very solid and he was amazing, despite feeling differently to me. He was devastated too, but he was very honest and said he didn’t feel the same depth of loss as me because he wasn’t going through it in a sense. And I understood that.

How do you look after your mental wellbeing?

I’m generally quite an upbeat person, but

I do struggle with anxiety. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t experienced it, or some form of depression; it can creep up on us all. Sometimes, when I have a lot on my plate, I genuinely don’t know how I’m going to reach the end of the next day. I have lists going through my mind in the middle of the night. I don’t know what the answer is, but I try to check in with myself and go, ‘Come on Al, put it into perspective, it’s not that bad. And if you don’t get through it all, you don’t.’

How do you relax?

Sometimes, when the boys have been put to bed, I’ll invite the girls over for what we call a ‘kitchen disco’. In other words, music, wine and dancing in my kitchen! It might not happen often these days, but when it does, it’s magic.

In your marriage vows you promised to try camping; have you done it yet?

Charlie brought this up the other day. He said, ‘We’ve been married for four years and you told me I couldn’t be ages in the shower and my showering has reduced. However, we still haven’t been camping.’ So I’ve succumbed to making a pact with him that this summer is the one we’re doing it. Watch this space!

 Alex co-hosts The One Show, weeknights on BBC One, and will be a contestant on The Great Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer, which launches at 8pm, Tuesday 3 March on Channel 4

My husband is adamant that two children is enough for the planet