The One Show host Alex Jones has revealed she was "fired twice" from a TV job at the start of her career, but still went back to work on the Monday.
The Welsh presenter, who has hosted The One Show for 16 years and appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, was speaking to Holly Willoughby on her YouTube series Together. Before her mainstream debut, Jones worked as a production runner and a researcher for the Welsh production company Afanti.
Terrible runner
During the episode released on Friday, October 9, Jones said she started presenting at 20 but was a "terrible runner" when she entered the industry at 18. She said: "I was a runner from about 18. Terrible runner. I was so bad."
Willoughby replied: "I can't imagine that."
Jones has previously shared a story about being sacked for mistaking Mike Peters from The Alarm for a tradesman who had come to fix the office alarm. It now turns out she was fired twice.
"I'm here to stay"
She continued: "I got fired twice, and I just went back on the Monday. 'Cause it was like Byker Grove. It was like a young television company full of young people, and everybody just in those days sat around kind of having a nice time, and I just went back in."
"I just wasn't taking no for an answer. I just thought, 'Oh, they won't mind.' Went back on the Monday, I was like, 'Hiya,' and they were like, 'We thought we got rid of you.' I was like, 'Mmm, no, I'm here to stay.'"
She added: "They gave me my first job presenting. I think they thought, 'Okay, so running is not for her. Researching, terrible researcher.' I've got so much respect now for young people that come in and they do those jobs, 'cause they're hard. We get the easy stuff."
This led to work on Welsh language programmes such as Jonathan and Can i Gymru.
Changing industry
The pair also discussed how the industry has changed, with older female presenters now leading shows. Willoughby said: "It has changed. It has changed. I don't know how you've felt about this, but when I looked at women on TV when I was growing up, I mean, apart from Cilla [Black], there wasn't that many. Also they were all younger. Much younger. It didn't look like a career that you could go into—I mean, I'm 45 now."
Jones, who is now 49, said: "Honestly, when I thought about somebody, when I was, I don't know, even 30, like a 50-year-old to me was like, 'Oh... That's embarrassing, that's really old'. And like, "Oh, my God, what?"
The full episode of Together with Alex Jones is available on YouTube.
