‘I CRY MORE NOW I’M A MUM’
The star gets in touch with her emotional side for her new TV show
Alex Jones is returning to our screens with Reunion Hotel and you’ll need tissues. The BBC show follows people as they’re reunited with those they most want to say thank you to. And from guide dog reunions to long-lost families, the 46-year-old presenter and mum of Teddy, five, Kit, three, and Annie, one, says the show’s a reminder of just how wonderful the world can be…
What made you want to do this show?
This seemed like a great opportunity to be the person others trust to share their story with. It’s kind of like The Repair Shop for humans. These are all stories that we’d love to feature on The One Show, but there just isn’t the time and space.
Were tears spilled?
I was really trying to hold it in, but the tears would just come!
Do you cry more since becoming a mum?
Oh, absolutely. You instantly put yourself in that situation. My kids are always saying, “Why are you holding me so tight?” It’s because of what you’ve seen that day. All of us are guilty of thinking things are difficult, but you walk away after hearing these stories with a new appreciation of how straightforward your own life is.
How did this compare to Making Babies?
Emotionally, they’re quite similar. They’re both the projects that I’m proudest of in my life.
How do you relax after filming emotional days?
I suppose life just goes at 100 miles an hour, and I’m pretty good at compartmentalising. I go home and I’m just Mum again.
Who in your past would you like to thank?
My secondary school drama teacher. I was really shy, and she pulled me out of my shell. I don’t think I’d be sitting here if it wasn’t for her. We need a second season just for me to say thank you.
We hear you speak Welsh on the show – do you speak it at home?
I speak to the children in Welsh, and they answer in English. Annie doesn’t speak at all yet, so I’m not sure if she knows. [Laughs]. But the other two do have an understanding, which is great – though sometimes they use it against me!
Reflecting on your career, what are the biggest lessons you’ve learnt?
This show is a reminder that although things come and alter you, you’re still the same person. Becoming a mum and meeting my husband Charlie [Thomson] massively changed me, but at the heart of it, I’m still the same person
I was at 22.
Catch Reunion Hotel, BBC Two and BBC One Wales, 8pm, Thursday 6 April
On her new TV show