‘IT CONTINUES TO BE DIFFICULT FOR KATE EVERY DAY'

PRESENTER CHARLOTTE HAWKINS ON HELPING HER CO-STAR KATE GARRAWAY THROUGH TOUGH TIMES AND LIFE AS A MOTHER-OF-ONE

- ELLIE KIRWIN-JONES

It’s clear from her busy schedule that Charlotte Hawkins is making up for lost time after suffering from long Covid. 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.

Charlotte revealed she only had “mild symptoms” when she had coronavirus, but she 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.

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 Garraway 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’d be able to get back to normality quickly, but it definitely took a lot longer than I expected. I’m often tired as I get up at 2.45am for work, but I still feel more tired than I normally would.

The blood clot scare must have been really worrying…