BBC Radio 1's Charlie Hedges has revealed that those closest to her have warned her to 'breathe and chill' as she takes on even more work. The 40-year-old broadcaster became the face of the legendary Live Lounge earlier this year, alongside Jeremiah Asiamah, as part of a major network overhaul that saw a string of broadcasters depart their roles.
The duo host the Live Lounge from 10.30am to 1pm, Monday to Thursday. Despite her extremely busy schedule, Charlie wouldn't have it any other way. "Life is good, life is busy, but if I'm not busy, I'm not content," she told the Mirror. "So many people tell me, 'Breathe and chill', but I can't. If I'm not busy, it's just, yeah."
A 'grafter' who thrives on being busy
Charlie, from London, said she has always been a hard worker. "I've always been a grafter. I'm the busiest I've ever been, but I'm so grateful for it. The new Live Lounge feels really exciting, and I still do my dance show on a Saturday, as well as filming a documentary at the minute," she said.
In addition to her radio duties, Charlie is gearing up to host Girlguiding's Big Gig and is currently working on a documentary about shyness. Despite her public-facing job, she doesn't believe she has overcome her shyness. "I think I've sort of learned to mask it," she commented.
Shyness and training herself not to go red
Reflecting on her childhood, Charlie said she was "the kid at the back of the class" who would sit with her fingers crossed, hoping not to be asked questions. "I would go red without even anyone talking to me," she recalled. "When I started college, I tried to tell myself, 'People don't know that I'm a shy kid'. Not that I think there's anything wrong with that, but when you're 16/17 growing up, it was awful. So, I started college and then I started to almost train myself to not go red."
Nowadays, Charlie says she still finds herself in certain situations where she is "that shy kid". She said: "I just think the redness is less and less, which means it's only internal. I'm trying to channel that energy and switch it to a positive. I don't think shyness is talked about that often. Over the years, which I found interesting, is that some pop stars that have a big stage presence, they could be quite shy."
Balancing work and family life
Outside of work, Charlie's life is flourishing, with her daughter, Summer-Rose, who was born in 2022, having just started school. "It's been a big change for me and her," Charlie commented, adding that the documentary she is filming is about the fact that she used to be, and still is in certain circumstances, "super, super shy".
While Charlie was a shy child, her daughter is "really confident". She explained: "I had the worst case of shyness; red cheeks going all the time. My mum and dad took me to stables when I was five and got me horse riding, Summer is really confident - much more confident than I was at her age. I was a stables girl growing up and as part of my documentary I went horse-riding for the first time in a long time with one of my friends, and I took my daughter recently as well. She's a big animal person."
On AI and the future of radio
Charlie is not burying her head in the sand about the rise of AI and concerns that it could replace people in the workplace. While she can imagine a world with AI DJs, she doesn't believe it will fully replace DJs or musicians. "I can see a part of the industry being like that, but nothing is ever gonna be like going to see a live band," she commented. "Even radio, I think, is still one of the most powerful mediums ever. Like anything new, there's alarm bells ringing, but there's probably a place for both. You're never going to be able to replace a live gig with the same feelings."
As a woman and working mum, Charlie feels powerful being a female in a male-dominated DJ world. "I've been very lucky in that I've had a strong, close family unit from when I was a kid, so they've always got me to focus on what's the end goal?" she said. "My goal was to - believe it or not, even though I was that shy show kid - be on radio and DJ."
Charlie recalled an incident a few years ago when somebody wasn't "very pleasant" towards her, but the person apologised at the end of her set. "He came over and apologised," she revealed. "He said sorry for not being very nice, and for making a joke about the fact that it was me playing." While acknowledging that such behaviour isn't acceptable, Charlie channels the energy into making herself "stronger". She said: "I've always tried to be a good person, be positive, and work hard. I've not had any backup options. I've gone for what I've really wanted and pushed for it."
From work experience to inspiring others
Charlie honed her craft during work experience at Kiss FM. "I had some downtime; I would go and use the studios and learn to DJ," she said. Inspiring the next generation, she said: "It's so amazing now. The amount of people that DM me and say, 'I really want to get into DJing, what should I do?' You can go on YouTube and watch videos of people teaching how to DJ for free or there's so many great apps now that you can teach yourself the basics."
Charlie celebrated the fact that people no longer have to spend thousands on expensive DJ kits. "If you're into music and you want to be a DJ, everyone deserves the opportunity to give it a go," she said.
Her most memorable concert was her first, which was Kylie Minogue. "Iconic, or what! I was young, so I don't remember much of it, but what a career Kylie's had. I remember going to a Radio One roadshow and am sure I saw the Spice Girls at one. I was lucky. There was always music on in my house, actually, very little TV. And we'd go to local gigs, whatever was on," she said.
Running, Pilates, and writing down goals
Outside of work, Charlie is a keen runner, but prefers a more relaxed run to clear her mind. She has also taken up Pilates and isn't afraid to do her exercises in public. "I've really gotten into Pilates and being in the open air. If I've had a full-on week, then I'll go for a walk, sometimes in the middle of nowhere," she explained.
Charlie documents "everything" and has kept a diary from a young age. "Every year my dad buys me a diary as a Christmas present. I've always been someone to write down my thoughts, but also, I've used it as a space to write down the things that I want to achieve," she said. Looking back on old diaries, she found it "interesting" to see her thoughts due to hormones, with days she was "down, up and all over the place".
Charlie added: "I think it really helps to write things down and to set goals - the whole, vision boardy stuff. I honestly hand-on-heart believe these things work. If you're looking at those things every day, you will get there." She revealed: "People won't believe this, but I wrote down and emailed myself years ago about wanting to host the Live Lounge. I used to listen to Fearne Cotton on the Live Lounge and I think she's unbelievable. It has happened, and I still can't believe it. When I wake up in the morning, sometimes I cannot believe what is going on."
Advice for young girls
Official data show that Girlguiding members are 30 per cent more confident than girls who are not in guiding. Reflecting on what advice she would give to young girls to boost their confidence, Charlie said: "I think it comes down to actually having conversations. I've got a really caring family and growing up we talked a lot. I think it's important to have open conversations, even with my little girl, who is only four. She came home last week from school and said, 'I felt really shy'. I thought it was such a brave thing for a four-year-old to recognise what was going on and be able to chat about it. It's about having those conversations as early as possible. You don't want to scare kids - there's certain things she doesn't need to know right now, but if she's coming to me with questions, then I will answer them honestly."
Girlguiding's Big Gig will take place on October 10 at OVO Arena Wembley.
