Bobby Norris and Charlotte Dawson
Charlotte Dawson chats about waiting for her boyfriend to propose, her baby plans and moving away from reality TV
There’s never a dull moment whenever I catch up with my pal Charlotte Dawson. The bubbly reality TV star is full of life and she’s not afraid to tell it like it is, which is why she always gives a fun interview.
While she’s usually partial to a chippy tea and a glass of fizz, Char tells me she’s been on a health kick. “I haven’t drunk for six weeks,” she says. “At the start of lockdown I was drinking so much. I was getting pissed in the living room and waking up in the hallway! I feel like if I have one prosecco, I won’t stop.”
Revealing she’s lost 7lb, she adds, “I’m still chunky but funky. I’ve still got the belly – that’s never going to go.” Good for you, babes!
The former Celebs Go Dating star is happily loved-up with her boyfriend Matt Sarsfield. And by the sound of things, a proposal could be on the cards any day, with Charlotte admitting she’s already got their wedding planned out.
Here, the 27-year-old reveals exactly how she’d like to tie the knot, her dream to follow in her legendary dad Les Dawson’s comedy footsteps and how she deals with online trolls…
Hi Char! How’s life with Matt?
Matt has gone back to work, so when I’m still in my pyjamas at 2 o’clock he has no idea! When he comes home at 4 o’clock,
I’m rushing around to clean the house. He’s like, “What have you been doing all day?” I’m like, “Erm, Tiktok!”
Ha! I saw that Matt recently gave you a promise ring…
I’m not sure what a bloody promise ring is, but that means I’m engaged anyway, I think! I was like, “Oh my God! Are we engaged? Have you just proposed to me?” He was like, “No, Charlotte, it’s a promise that I’m going to ask you to marry me and it’s going to be a big rock.” I was like, “Obviously, because this is not a rock!” I haven’t really been wearing it at the moment, but I do wear it for special occasions. I’m loving that he got me it – I think it’s really cute. But I’m waiting for the big chuffin’ rock, Bob!
What would be your dream proposal, babes?
This is a very clichéd one, but I love Paris, so I would love him to propose at the top of the Eiffel Tower. But I’d be happy anywhere, really. Maybe even over a chippy – I think that’s a bit more up Chazza’s street.
I’ve already told Matt about my idea, but he said he doesn’t want to do it like that because he wants me to be surprised. I think he’ll do it when I least expect it, but I don’t like surprises
– I want to know what it is and I’m very impatient.
Do you think a proposal will be coming soon?
Well, I think so! It’s either that or babies hopefully.
How many kids would you like?
I think I just want two – a girl and a boy. Very basic.
Have you got any names in mind?
I’ve got a boy’s name – Noah. How cute is that? And then for a girl, I’ve got either Lola or Lily. I want a girl and then a boy because I want the girl to look after the little boy. I just want a little mini-me running around.
You’d be tearing your Easilocks out with a mini-you, babes! How do you picture your wedding?
Oh darling, I want the biggest wedding in the world! I want the most extra wedding. I want swans and I want a bit of Katie Price in there with the horse and carriage. I want it all. I would like to get married in a big castle, whereas Matthew wants to get married abroad. But I don’t think I could handle the heat. Imagine my weave in the heat? I’d have such a sweaty upper lip alert!
Have you thought about your wedding dress?
I want to have a really long train. I want people tripping up over it. I want it to be very slimming with lots of lovely details with pearls.
Very nice! We’ve done a few jobs together over the years, Char. How did you find Celebs Go Dating?
I loved Celebs Go Dating. I mean, I can’t really remember it because I was drunk! There’s not a lot of memory there, but I did have a laugh when I was at the agency.
I’m so glad I did it because I had an absolute ball. But thinking back, I was very, very crazy back then. Getting the lads’ bums out and licking shots off them and stuff – I definitely lost the plot. Obviously, it was an amazing experience being with you and Toff. We had a ball, didn’t we?
We really did have a good time. What was it like the second time around doing couples therapy with Matt?
I’ve always wanted to do couples therapy, so when we had the opportunity to do it, I felt like it was amazing because it was so good to actually sit there and speak about our problems. When you’re in a relationship, you kind of shove everything under the carpet. I really enjoyed it this time around because I felt a bit more mature – even though I’ve still definitely got my immature side! I learnt a lot about myself and we learnt a lot about our relationship. Ever since then, we’ve been so much better.
That’s good to hear! You first appeared on our screens on Ex On The Beach – did you enjoy that experience?
The opportunity came and I’d never really been on TV, apart from doing documentaries about my dad. I kind of wanted to show people my personality. When I went on there I’d never done a reality show in my life and
I didn’t understand that everything is filmed. I was a bit of a nightmare on it, but that’s just me. I had fun and I have no regrets in life. I definitely kissed a couple of frogs on there! Matthew actually watched it and then we met each other not long after. He was like, “I really fancied you on it up until episode five,” which is when
I was bloody kissing everyone. And then me and Matthew got
‘I THINK I LOOK A BIT LIKE A MELTED WELLY SOME DAYS – BUT I’M EMBRACING THE NATURAL LOOK’
together and then we broke up and I went on Celebs Go Dating. I got with Frankie Cocozza and other people, but it just wasn’t the same [as being with Matt].
How do you look back on your time with Frankie?
The whole thing was like a holiday romance. Spontaneous, I’d call it. Me and Frankie haven’t spoken since filming, but I’ve seen he’s had a baby and now lives in Australia, so I’m very happy for him. He’s with a girl who he suits and I’m with a guy who I suit. We just didn’t suit each other.
The last time we spoke you told me you wanted to go into comedy. Is that still in the pipeline?
Yeah, I’ve been in that kind of limbo stage where I’m like, “Do I want to carry on with reality TV? What do I want to do?” My confidence has just grown over the years and I’ve always been that type who doesn’t take myself too seriously. I just really want to get into comedy now
– I feel like it’s my calling. I’d feel a lot closer to my dad as well. I’ll never, ever say no to reality TV because I love it, but obviously some things aren’t right for me any more. I really want to be taken a bit more seriously now because I’ve got a lot of amazing ideas other than just getting drunk and being crazy on TV.
What have you got planned?
I want to start my clothing brand back up because I lost it last year. I was in the business with, like, five people, which is too many anyway and it all just got a bit too greedy and it wasn’t worth it. So I want to do my own thing now. I want to do something with my sayings on, like, “Come ’ere, you!” I’d also love to do the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – that would be a dream.
How has lockdown been for you?
It seems so weird that this is life now. Like, you go to the supermarket and if you literally stand anywhere near anyone, they look like they’re going to kill you. I’m not being funny, Bobby,
I’d love a queue jump. I’d love some kind of guest list to get into the supermarkets! Isn’t it weird how we’d try to get into a club on the guest list and now it’s all about the supermarkets! Work-wise, I’ve actually been quite busy doing lots of social stuff. Tiktok has been keeping me going and, hopefully, it’s been keeping a lot of my followers going. Me acting like a bloody chuffin’ stupid idiot – I’ve had fun on it. And if I hadn’t been in lockdown, I wouldn’t have been able to actually let my nails breathe, let my hair breathe or let my lashes breathe! It’s very weird because I’ve just gone so natural.
Are you embracing it?
I think I look a bit like a melted welly some days, but I’m really embracing it. And everybody is loving the natural Chazza, so she might be here to stay. I used to hate my natural curls, but I’m just loving them because that’s life now.
Have you ever experienced trolling?
I do get some really nasty trolling about my dad. Things like, “Your dad would be ashamed of you,” or “Your dad would be turning in his grave.” Mainly it’s because of shows I’ve done. Sometimes it really does get to me. I know that I’m very strong, but they can be so nasty these trolls that you think, “Maybe I should come off Instagram for a few days.” The thing about me is I try to troll myself before anyone call troll me. I will talk about my bunions and my belly, so no one can ever say, “You’ve got a big fat belly!” or, “You’ve got bunions!” Everybody already knows I have. I take the piss out of myself so nobody can do it. I don’t get any negative comments about the way I look, but I used to get a lot of abuse because I used to Facetune my pictures. People would see me on TV and say I don’t look anything like the way I look on Instagram.
Matt is a former rugby player – how does he feel about what you do for a living?
He’s fine with it. Obviously [before lockdown] I would go to London all the time and he would love it when I was just at home, so he’s loving that I’m at home all the time now. He copes with it OK. As long as I’m happy, he’s happy. I want to do things with him on TV, but it’s not for him really. But I like it that way.
For more of Bobby’s celebrity interviews, follow @getgobbywithbobby on Instagram