Good Morning Britain presenter Charlotte Hawkins wakes at 2:30am for her punishing routine, but she takes it in her stride. The 51-year-old, who lives in Surrey with husband Mark Herbert and 11-year-old daughter Ella Rose, says balancing work and family requires meticulous planning.
“Waking up at 2.30am does have an impact,” she told OK! magazine. “Sometimes you don’t even know what time of day it is. You go for a little nap and then you wake up thinking, ‘What time is it? What day is it? What have I missed?’”
Early Starts and Family Life
Arriving at the studio is like “stepping onto a roller-coaster,” Hawkins said. “But I love it, because it’s so fast-paced. Sometimes you think you know what’s going to happen, then breaking news will completely change everything.”
To carve out time with her daughter, she plans ahead. “When you’re juggling being a mum as well, you have to make sure that you earmark that family time,” she said. At the start of school holidays, they write a list of activities like baking a cake and tick them off together.
Daughter’s Strong Style Opinions
Hawkins is proud that Ella Rose knows her own mind. “She’s got very strong opinions when it comes to style,” she said. “I went shopping with her recently and I was picking what I thought were cute outfits, and she was just like, ‘No! That’s disgusting.’”
Hawkins, who also presents the fashion segment for ITV Racing, added, “I said, you know, ‘I do this for a living.’ She wasn’t having any of it. She definitely puts me in my place – but good for her. She’s got a strong sense of identity.”
Support for Social Media Restrictions
Hawkins is thrilled with government plans to bring in social media restrictions for under-16s next year. “She doesn’t have a phone, so no access to social media,” she said. “I’m pleased they’re bringing in [restrictions], it’s too much for children at that age and they don’t have the capacity, I don’t think, to be able to deal with the complexities and potential issues that come from that.”
She added, “I know friends whose children have been bullied on social media, and it’s just not worth that risk. I look back at my childhood and think, ‘My goodness, I’m so glad I didn’t have it.’”
Hawkins sees the consequences at work. “We cover so many stories about parents who’ve lost children because of things that have happened online, and it’s just so heartbreaking. I’m fully in support of making the changes to protect children.”
Online Nastiness and Kindness
“I’m staggered by the amount of nastiness out there, which seems to be getting worse,” she said. “People feel they can say anything to anyone. I have no doubt that they wouldn’t say that to someone’s face. Good manners and trying to be a good, kind person is so important. We’ve all got to take responsibility for how we treat people.”
Support for Kate Garraway
Hawkins was there for close friend and co-presenter Kate Garraway, 59, during her husband Derek Draper’s long illness. Draper died in January 2024 aged 56 after battling the effects of Covid-19. “She’s had so much going on in her life, and I am full of admiration for the way that, whatever was happening, she didn’t let it show,” Hawkins said.
“We would have chats in the morning, before she was hosting, and you could see privately how much was going on – and yet she turned up and did her job. It was incredible that she did all of that. I know she knew we were there for her — it was a very supportive environment when she was going through the toughest parts of it.”
Hawkins is pleased to see Garraway in a brighter place. “It’s lovely to see her happier now. We’re pleased for her.”
Classical Music and André Rieu
Hawkins’ love of classical music comes from her late father Frank, a vicar who filled the home with loud classical music. She presents on Classic FM and hopes to pass that love to her daughter. “There are ways people are making it modern and breathing a new sense of life into it for the future generations to come,” she said.
She hosts the cinema broadcast of André Rieu’s Summer Concert, dubbed Viva Maastricht!, marking 20 years of his iconic concerts in Maastricht. In 2017, David Hasselhoff joined Rieu on stage. “I hadn’t expected to see him there at all,” Hawkins admitted. “The audience went absolutely crazy! Getting to meet him was so surreal, having grown up watching Baywatch.”
Natural Beauty and Nutrition
Hawkins hasn’t had any “tweakments.” “I’d be concerned about messing with my face because I’ve seen examples of when it’s gone wrong. But I completely understand there are people who do it, and it looks amazing, and they feel amazing. So for those people, good on you.”
She added, “There will come a time where I’ll look in the mirror like, ‘I think it’s time now.’ But not yet.” She relies on good nutrition: “I try to eat the right foods, drink water and take supplements. I eat a lot of nuts and seeds, avocado, brown rice and sardines. But if I’m going out, I’ll have a blowout.”
Marriage and Conflict Management
Hawkins has been married to Mark for 18 years. “You’ve got to treat each other with respect, be each other’s best friends. We rarely have disagreements. When you know you’re in it for the long haul, you want to make it work. It’s best to talk about things as soon as possible. Some people bottle everything up and it comes out in a massive blow-up.”
“Doing small things that show you care is also important. Sometimes couples can slip into bad habits, or even how they treat each other. As with everything in life, little acts of kindness can go a long way.”
