Charlotte Hawkins certainly has a lot on her plate. When she isn’t up at the crack of dawn reading the headlines on Good Morning Britain, she’s presenting her Smooth Classics show on Classic FM. Plus, she’s mum to six-year-old Ella Rose who she shares with her husband Mark Herbert. It’s clear from the star’s busy schedule that she’s making up for lost time by getting stuck into work again after recovering from long Covid.
Charlotte revealed she only had “mild symptoms” when she had coronavirus-1>coronavirus, but has experienced exhaustion, brain fog and leg numbness subsequently. At one point, doctors even suspected Charlotte had a blood clot. “Thank goodness it wasn’t that. I feel lucky,” she tells us over Zoom. “I work with Kate Garraway and I’ve seen everything she’s been going through with her husband, Derek. I know how horrific the consequences of Covid-19 can be.”
Next month, Charlotte, 46, will be hosting Christmas With André Rieu all the way from his hometown, Maastricht, in the Netherlands, and she hopes people will be throwing themselves into the Christmas spirit this year after missing out in 2020.
Here, the former Strictly star talks about supporting her co-star Kate and dreading Ella Rose’s teenage years…
Hi, Charlotte! You’ve been open about your battle with long Covid. How are you now?
I felt lucky that I had just cold symptoms when I had Covid-19. I thought once that had finished, I would be able to get back to normality quickly, but it definitely took a lot longer than I thought. I’m often tired as I get up at 2.45am for work, and when you’re working in television, you’re used to feeling tired. But I still feel more tired than I normally would.
The blood clot scare must have been worrying…
Yeah, it was scary. Thank goodness it wasn’t that. I feel lucky. As many people know, I work with Kate Garraway, and I’ve seen everything she’s been going through with her husband, Derek, so I know how horrific the consequences of Covid can be. I’m just grateful that it was mild for me. After I spoke out about my symptoms, there were so many people in the same boat as me who are trying to get through the exhaustion and the brain fog.
Did you feel scared that you could be in a similar situation as Derek?
The difference now is that we have a vaccination, meaning that when people do get Covid, their symptoms are likely to be a lot milder. The vaccination has made all the difference – when Derek caught Covid, it was right at the beginning when we didn’t have the vaccination. We didn’t know as much about it as we do now.
How is Kate now?
We continue to send our love to support Kate and to just keep everything crossed that Derek will have a path to recovery and get back to where he should be. It continues to be difficult for her every day. It was great for her to be able to get Derek back home, but he does require constant care. It must be difficult not knowing what recovery is going to look like for them all. I have such an admiration for the fact that she even comes in to present Good Morning Britain – she does her job, puts her work hat on and just gets on with it. We have just got to be there to love and support her in whatever way we can.
You must have been proud of her when she won an NTA for her documentary Finding Derek?
Absolutely. She’s going through such a difficult time, but to open her house and life up to the cameras is another thing altogether. It was a difficult decision to make, but I think it allowed people to understand the situation she is in and to show how difficult it is. It was a very brave thing for her to have done.
What stand-out challenges have you faced in your career?
We cover a lot of hard stories that affect you emotionally and hit home, and sometimes it’s hard to switch that off. We’re here to tell people what’s going on, and for a lot of that time you train yourself to take a step back. But it is hard. One time that stands out for me was the Grenfell Tower fire. We all came into the studio and saw it unfold in front of our eyes. It was really upsetting to be talking through what was going on and seeing the tragic story develop live.
We can’t believe your daughter Ella Rose is already six…
It’s gone incredibly quickly. We just had Halloween, and I looked back at all the pictures of her dressing up over the years. Sometimes I look at her and I think she’s getting so tall. She’s getting to that stage where she’s growing day by day, and before I know it she will be fitting into my clothes! Six is such a wonderful age – she’s so full of joy and excitement. I’m not sure I’m looking forward to the teenage years… I don’t know what that’s going to bring!
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What have you learnt from motherhood so far?
All things that may have seemed important years ago become less important. It put everything into perspective when Ella came along in the centre of our world and I would do absolutely anything for her. It makes you feel more responsible, not only for looking after her but for bringing her up as a well-rounded, empathetic and resilient person, and someone who’s going to find their way in the world and make a difference.
Could you see her following in your footsteps?
She does love a bit of performance. She goes to a singing, acting and dancing class now. Recently, I’ve noticed she always wants to read a bedtime story and then she asks me, “Can you video my bedtime story?” It’s like she has her own YouTube channel! She’s a natural already. We’ll wait and see what she does with that, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
What do you make of Strictly this year?
It’s really funny, whenever I hear the music on the TV it sends a shiver down my spine and brings it all back. I’ve watched snippets but I don’t sit down to watch it every week. I think you see it in a different light once you’ve taken part and you know what all the contestants are going through. I would have loved to be on it for longer [Charlotte was eliminated third in 2017].
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Are you still in touch with Brendan Cole, your partner on the show?
Yeah, we send each other messages and it’s lovely to catch up with him every now and then. I still bump into people from the show; I saw Alexandra Burke the other day. The nice thing is that you always have that connection with people as you spent so much time together doing Strictly. It’s lovely to see the people again who you have shared that journey with.
It’s like a special members’ club!
What do you make of Anton Du Beke being a judge?
Oh, he’s brilliant – I love Anton. He’s doing a phenomenal job. I think it’s nice having a dancer on the panel. He knows his stuff but at the same time, he’s a nice guy. It’s good to have someone with that perspective who is supportive of the dancers’ efforts and appreciative of that. It can be terrifying on that dance floor, so you want at least one of the judges to be supporting you.
You’re hosting Christmas With André Rieu next month, what can we expect from that?
This concert is really special. It’s at the winter palace in André’s hometown of Maastricht. There’s going to be snow, plenty of Christmas excitement, a host of special guests and all of the Christmas classics. André is a fabulous entertainer, and even if people aren’t able to see him live, particularly with all the travel restrictions at the moment, it will be available to watch in your local cinema. I’ve worked with André for the last 10 years, and all of his concerts are spectacular. So hopefully this year, as everyone is getting back into normality, we will see people throwing themselves into the Christmas spirit.