Keeping up with the Jones: The One Show's Alex Jones and new co-hosts Jermaine Jenas and Ronan Keating on the chemistry that got them the job... just in time to cover her maternity!

  • Ronan Keating, 44, and Jermaine Jenas, 38, are joining BBC's The One Show
  • Alex Jones, 44, has had an array of guest presenters since Matt Baker left
  • Pregnant mother-of-two says new co-host will make it 'easier' for her to go off
  • Reflects on how the show had to adapt in the early days of the UK's lockdown 

Should we feel sorry for The One Show presenter Alex Jones, or envious about the year she’s had? Since her long-term presenting ‘husband’ Matt Baker departed to spend more time with his sheep, she’s been a single lady on the show.

Oh, she’s had plenty of partners on the sofa (actually sofas, and very spaced-out ones now thanks to social distancing) but no Richard to her Judy, so to speak. For the past year, Matt’s seat has been taken by an ever-changing array of guest presenters. 

One day Alex, 44, has been joined by singer Michael Ball, the next by sports presenter Alex Scott. She’s been paired with, variously, reality show stalwart Rylan Clark-Neal, actors Kym Marsh and Martin Clunes, and dancer Jordan Banjo. It’s been hard to keep up – and surely hell for the very capable Alex?

Most of her co-presenters haven’t been trained journalists or seasoned TV presenters at all, more personalities who have segued into the TV world. Now it’s time for the single lady to settle down though.

Ronan Keating, 44, and Jermaine Jenas, 38, are joining Alex Jones, 44, as permanent co-hosts on BBC's The One Show. Pictured left to right: Jermaine Jenas, Alex Jones and Ronan Keating

Ronan Keating, 44, and Jermaine Jenas, 38, are joining Alex Jones, 44, as permanent co-hosts on BBC's The One Show. Pictured left to right: Jermaine Jenas, Alex Jones and Ronan Keating

Sort of. She says herself she’ll miss her ‘dating days’ but it’s time for some commitment. ‘I think of the last year as telly Tinder,’ she says with trademark cheer.

Her new working arrangement will be less of a traditional marriage though, because she will have two TV husbands. Singer Ronan Keating and former footballer Jermaine Jenas have been appointed as permanent presenters on the show. 

From Monday, Alex will continue to present for five days a week, while her new permanent co-stars will join her on set days – Monday to Wednesday for Jermaine, Thursday and Friday for Ronan. 

While there will inevitably be days when other presenters will be called in from the subs’ bench, these three will make up the core team.

‘It’s all about giving the viewers stability,’ says Alex. ‘It’s been lovely to mix things up, and I’ve got to work with some brilliant people, which was right for the time. 

'When you think about it, Matt left just as we went into lockdown and then the programme changed. All our lives changed. The world changed!

'But the challenge now is taking the show forward, and it will be lovely to have a gang of us, a solid team.’

Is there a pecking order in this new team though? Surely Alex will be boss, captain and lead singer? She shakes her head, protesting. 

Ronan and Jermaine will be able to continue their others careers, due to the part-time nature of their roles. Pictured left to right: Jermaine Jenas, Alex Jones and Ronan Keating

Ronan and Jermaine will be able to continue their others careers, due to the part-time nature of their roles. Pictured left to right: Jermaine Jenas, Alex Jones and Ronan Keating

‘No, no, no…’ but Ronan, 44, and Jermaine, 38, nod just as vigorously, so we can take it that Alex is still firmly at the helm.

The guys explain that their previous stints on the show were more on an ad hoc basis (‘We’d just get the call,’ says Ronan). Now there will be a rota. 

‘It’s a revamp, just doing something more solid, so there are familiar faces every week rather than it being as transient as it has been over the past while,’ says Ronan.

You can see the attraction for both men. The part-time nature of the role will allow them to continue with their other careers. 

Ronan, whose life in showbiz started with Boyzone, also presents shows on Magic Radio and will continue with his singing commitments when the entertainment world opens up more.

After the last year how hard can three children be?

Ex-England star Jermaine earned his first cap at 19 while playing for Newcastle before moving to Spurs. He represented his country 21 times, scoring once, before injury curtailed his career. 

He regularly appears on Match Of The Day, but says he shifted other sports TV work to allow for this job. ‘It’s by far the biggest thing I’ve done, so it was a case of moving other stuff out of the way.’

The new dream team will still need some tweaks though. Alex is expecting her third baby, a girl, in the autumn (she fittingly announced the news on the show after a segment on lockdown babies). 

While she’s on maternity leave there will be more juggling of roles. She chats about the impending new arrival and no, she and her husband, insurance broker Charlie Thomson, did not plan it. 

Alex with former co-host and 'TV husband' Matt Baker who left in 2020 after nine years

Alex with former co-host and 'TV husband' Matt Baker who left in 2020 after nine years

It was ‘a surprise, but a lovely surprise,’ she says. ‘If I could have taken a picture of our faces when we got the results. But it’s been a year for surprises – some good, some horrendous – so you have to embrace the positive. We couldn’t be more pleased now.’

Alex already has two boys – Teddy, four, and Kit, who turns two this month. They weren’t altogether thrilled to hear of another sibling. 

‘Teddy said, “Mama, we already have a baby, we don’t need another one. Send it back.” But then I explained that they’re both boys and this one will be a girl, so that was OK. A girl was easier to sell to them!’

Come the autumn then, she’ll have three children under the age of five. Is the panic rising? She laughs. 

Our role is to bring comfort into people’s lives

‘After the year we’ve had, how hard can three children be?’ she says. Jermaine teases her. ‘Is this being recorded? Can we play that back in the future, to see if she still thinks that?’

While it’s happy personal news, for the show it’s a huge issue. Did it spark the decision to create a permanent presenting team? ‘Well, it happened organically,’ she says. 

‘But it will make it easier for me to go off, knowing that these two love the show and want to take it forward.’ 

Whatever the team line-up, The One Show is at a critical juncture. As Alex is quick to point out, it’s one of the few TV shows that has actually gained viewers during the pandemic, and as the country opens up again it will have to work hard to retain them.

Alex who is expecting her third baby, a girl, in the autumn, said the addition of Jermaine and Ronan will make it 'easier' for her to go on maternity leave. Pictured: Alex on The One Show

Alex who is expecting her third baby, a girl, in the autumn, said the addition of Jermaine and Ronan will make it 'easier' for her to go on maternity leave. Pictured: Alex on The One Show

Like all the best magazine-type shows, it has always been an eclectic mix of the fun, the flippant and the deeply serious. It’s been much mocked over the years for lurching from a tale of tragedy, which might have Alex wiping her eyes, to a light-hearted segment.

Lockdown threw up a huge question about what the ‘tone’ of the programme should be. Alex, Ronan and Jermaine all worked on the show through the pandemic, but Alex was at the helm (presenting from home at various stages when she had to isolate), and sums up that feeling of shellshock very powerfully today.

‘At the beginning I don’t think any of us really knew what we were dealing with – including the government. In those first few weeks of the first lockdown – late March going into April last year – things were changing on a daily basis really. 

The team was pared down to just a handful of people, with everyone else working from home. It was odd coming into work because we were leaving our families, not knowing what all this would mean for them.

ZOOM? IT’S A CAN OF WORMS! 

More so than most programmes, The One Show has been heavily reliant on video calls over the past year. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, according to the presenters. 

‘I do think Zoom and Skype are here to stay,’ says Ronan Keating.

Alex (pictured) said they've had technical issues throughout lockdown but people are 'comforted' by it

Alex (pictured) said they've had technical issues throughout lockdown but people are 'comforted' by it

‘We’ve had some amazing guests – big, big stars – because things like Skype have made them more accessible. It’s a can of worms really, though – will they actually want to come and see us in person now? But I do think it will work in our favour. 

'We’ve always tried to have at least one guest in the studio, so people who can come in will. It just gives us more scope.’

With impeccable timing, he loses his Zoom connection momentarily, and Alex and Jermaine laugh.

‘We’ve had all sorts of technical issues during lockdown but I think people are comforted by that,’ says Alex. ‘It’s that “all in it together” thing.’

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‘It was nerve-racking. You were driving in through a ghost town. You could drive along Regent Street and not see a single person. In the office, you wouldn’t want to touch the button in the lift. 

'Everybody had masks on and you would really be conscious about keeping a distance. We didn’t know whether it would affect children. It was quite scary times.’

Normally Alex and Charlie would have a lot of family support with childcare. During the pandemic they had none. But there was still a show to put out – which was the salvation, somehow. 

She talks about how they embraced the chaos – getting the guests on Zoom, even if no one was entirely sure that would work. They kept their silly segments, but also covered the tragedy that was happening. Life carried on, in a weird way.

‘As things evolved, I think it felt more and more like this is what this show was meant to do, have a really strong connection with the audience. And we took everybody along on that journey. 

'Our job was to reflect what Britain felt that day and to lift people up a little bit after an hour of news. And sometimes that was really hard. 

'To lift the mood and find the right tone is very tricky, but the audience responded positively, very warmly.’

Job done then? ‘I think it felt more like public service broadcasting than it’s ever done before, you know. 

'As a show we’ve always had a good connection with the viewers, but it felt a lot closer. Now we’re one of the only shows that has gained viewers – I think in some ways the Netflix stuff has taken over.’

She links the ratings boost to that audience need for familiarity and comfort. 

‘It was a place to feel safe, to reflect on what has happened, but not dwell on it too much and try to find some positivity. Now the challenge for the three of us will be to go forward and take this new audience with us.’

Jermaine agrees. ‘I think we’ve seen that the role of the show is to bring comfort into people’s lives. 

'I know that there were days I was presenting with Alex where we’d come in and say we were feeling a bit down, but we’d be lifted by doing the show, and our job was to lift the audience too. I think we got it on the money every day, reflecting the good and the bad.’

The fact that Alex announced her pregnancy on the show speaks volumes about how much a part of her wider life it is. There’s some joking today about how the other two will cope if she goes into labour early (at least before she had Matt Baker on hand, who’s a dab hand at lambing). 

Jermaine said the role of the show is to bring comfort into people¿s lives, as he revealed there has been days he's come in to present with Alex while feeling down. Pictured: Jermaine Jenas and wife Ellie

Jermaine said the role of the show is to bring comfort into people’s lives, as he revealed there has been days he's come in to present with Alex while feeling down. Pictured: Jermaine Jenas and wife Ellie

The consensus is that they all know a bit about babies (‘although I think I’d be better off running down the road to the hospital,’ concludes Alex).

Indeed, it sounds as if it is no coincidence that both the permanent new signings have children. Ronan has five – three from his first marriage, and two with his second wife Storm. 

Jermaine has three girls, again from two relationships. ‘How many children do we have between us?’ Alex asks the others, losing count. It will be 11 when the new baby arrives.

Ronan says the births of his two youngest – Cooper, four, and Coco, 13 months – are linked to the show. 

‘I was hosting The One Show on the day Cooper arrived. He was born in the morning at the Portland Hospital just down the road from the BBC. 

I was hosting the show the day my son arrived  

'I got to spend a little time with him, then I went to do the show. It’s a blur. I hadn’t slept the night before. I can’t remember a thing about it!

‘But the funny thing is that our little girl Coco was born at the same hospital just four days into lockdown. I remember walking down to the BBC again, just to get some air, and it was totally different. You came out into this Armageddon – a deserted London, almost like grass growing down the middle of the road.’

Ronan should have been on tour this year, but the cancellation of live gigs has kept him at home – something he’s now grateful for. ‘I got quality time at home, which I’ve really never had. I was always at the airport twice a week.’

Jermaine has a similar story. He has two children, Geneva and Olivia – who are eight and four – with his wife Ellie. He also has another daughter Sancha, 13, from a previous relationship.

Lockdown has meant spending time with them for him too. He says it’s only recently that he’s realised how much he’s missed as his career as a footballer and then sports pundit has taken him all over the world.

‘I feel a bit guilty saying it, but for me lockdown was a nice thing, a moment to reset and be with my kids. When I was playing I was all over the place. 

'Even when you’re at home you’re recovering, and still in your sports mind – “I need to get fit. I need to recover.” It can be quite a selfish place to be.

‘It’s the same with sports presenting because there’s a lot of travel involved. At one point my kids just used to call me “Bye”, as in “Bye Daddy”. They said it so much it was kind of my name. So being at home with them has been amazing.’

All three say they have learned more about each other’s lives in the past year.

‘I think it does create a bond. Alex will be in make-up and I’ll wander in and have a chat about how I didn’t get much sleep last night. We’re always chatting about our kids,’ says Jermaine.

Bang on cue, Alex asks Ronan about his son Cooper’s birthday party the previous day. And we should expect more of this on air too – banter about family life is a firm part of the show.

‘I think it has to be. You have to be yourself and open up about that part of your life – I don’t think you can have a proper connection with the audience without it – and I think the events of the past year have reinforced that,’ says Alex.

She cites the fact that she’s been known to burst into tears during a segment as a strength. 

‘As a presenter you throw caution to the wind and say, “Well I might cry at this next bit” because I may be sitting here on the sofa and you’re watching me at home, but we’re all going through the same thing.’ 

The One Show is on weekdays at 7pm on BBC1.

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