Welsh BBC presenter gets emotional as she reflects on huge achievement

Amelia Jones  

A beloved BBC presenter is celebrating a major career milestone after spending more than a decade fronting one of the broadcaster’s biggest programmes.

Alex Jones has reflected on her 16 years presenting The One Show, admitting she feels “emotional” as the long-running BBC One programme prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary this month.

Jones has said she was “too scared” to admit she wanted to work in television as a young girl.

The broadcaster, 49, is best known for presenting BBC’s The One Show since 2010 but, growing up in Carmarthenshire said she never believed such a career would be possible.

She said: “When I was a little girl growing up in South Wales, I thought I’d like to be a presenter but I was too scared to say anything because nobody in South Wales became broadcasters, especially not on national television.”

Recalling a day where she presented from Windsor Castle, she added: “I really thought about that little girl that day and thought I can’t believe that this is what I do for a job.”

Jones became a TV researcher after university but was sacked twice, including once for mistaking the singer Mike Peters from the band The Alarm for a workman who was in the office to fix an alarm.

At age 21, she was asked to audition by a producer in front of the camera and began presenting on BBC Choice as well as Welsh language channel S4C.

She then who joined The One Show in 2010, and is now its longest-serving presenter, having shared the famous green sofa with the likes of Roman Kemp, Vernon Kay and Clara Amfo over the years.

Since moving from BBC Wales to the national programme, Jones has become one of the broadcaster’s most recognisable faces, remaining at the heart of the evening show as it reaches another major milestone.

Speaking to the BBC, Jones said the achievement she is most proud of is still being part of the show after all these years.

She said: “I’m most proud of the fact that I’m still here because to have a job that you not only love but you’re really proud to do is rare over the stretch of time that I’ve been here.

“It makes me a bit emotional because I’m so proud of the show. It has withstood so many changes in trends, changes in the way people watch TV or whatever, it still stands and stays relevant.”

She added that The One Show would be “really missed” if it was ever taken off its regular 7pm weekday slot.

Jones has been at the heart of the show for 16 of those 20 years, becoming one of the BBC’s most familiar presenters while also fronting documentaries and special programmes for the broadcaster.

To mark its 20th anniversary, The One Show will feature surprise moments, celebrity guests and memorable reunions celebrating two decades on air.

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