Charlotte Mary Hawkins (born 16 May 1975) is an English television and radio presenter, newsreader and journalist. Hawkins joined ITV's ''

Meridian Tonight ''ITV News Meridian'' is a British television news service broadcast and produced by ITV Meridian. Overview The news service is produced and broadcast from ITV Meridian's studios in Whiteley, near Fareham with reporters also based at bureaux i ...

'' in 2003, hosting its main news programme, leaving in 2006 to become co-presenter of Sky's breakfast programme ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...

'' with

Eamonn Holmes Eamonn Holmes (; born 3 December 1959)Holmes receives honorary degree
BBC ...

. In 2014, she left Sky to co-present the

ITV Breakfast ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited (previously known as GMTV Limited) is the national ITV breakfast television licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc in November 2009. The breakfast license ...

programme '' Good Morning Britain''. She also presents a Sunday evening programme on Classic FM. She was a contestant in the fifteenth series of '' Strictly Come Dancing'' but was eliminated in the fourth week.

Early life

Hawkins was born on 16 May 1975 in

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

, West Sussex. She attended the Bishop Luffa School in

, and the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

, graduating with a BA in English Literature. She later undertook a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from the

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

Career

Journalism

Hawkins began her broadcasting career with ITN in 1999 as a newsreader and reporter for

LBC Radio LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadcast ...

. She was one of the first journalists at the fatal

Paddington rail crash The Ladbroke Grove rail crash (also known as the Paddington rail crash) was a rail accident which occurred on 5 October 1999 at Ladbroke Grove in London, England, when two passenger trains collided almost head-on after one of them had passed a ...

and provided live reports from the scene. In January 2000, she moved to

ITV Meridian ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at 12:00 am on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned ...

in the South East of England where she co-presented the hour-long current affairs series ''The Big Story''. From October 2003, Hawkins worked for ITV Meridian as co-anchor of their main news programme ''

''. She also presented on the ITV News Channel. At Meridian, she presented several pan-regional documentaries, including the half-hour special ''Britain on the Move''. In 2007 Hawkins co-presented ''The London Boat Show'' for ITV. Hawkins left Meridian in December 2006 to join Sky News in January 2007, where she presented ''

'' each Monday to Thursday with

Eamonn Holmes Eamonn Holmes (; born 3 December 1959)Holmes receives honorary degree
BBC ...

. In March 2014 she left the channel. Hawkins presented several stints on Five News, in the absence of stand-in

Matt Barbet Matthew Barbet (born 8 June 1976) is a British television presenter and journalist, best known for his work with Channel 5 and ITV. In 2003, Barbet joined BBC News, where he worked on various news programmes. In September 2007, he left BBC N ...

who was providing maternity leave cover for main presenter

Natasha Kaplinsky Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972)The Donor, News and information for blood donors, Winter 2009, National Blood Service, England, page 55 is an English newsreader, TV presenter and journalist, best known for her roles as a st ...

, for a period in 2010. In 2010, she was an occasional guest news reviewer on the ITV programme '' This Morning''. Hawkins also presented the

Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...

documentary ''Andre Rieu: Behind the Music''. On 3 March 2014, Hawkins was confirmed as a presenter on

programme '' Good Morning Britain''. She made her last appearance on ''Sky News Sunrise'' on 6 March 2014 and made her debut on ''Good Morning Britain'' on 28 April 2014, where she co-hosts the show with

Ben Shephard Benjamin Peter Sherrington Shephard (born 11 December 1974) is an English television presenter and journalist who is currently employed by ITV. He was a main presenter on the now defunct breakfast programme '' GMTV'' and since April 2014 has ...

Sean Fletcher {{Infobox person , name = Sean Fletcher , image = , caption = , birth_date = {{birth date and age, 1974, 4, 20, df=y , birth_place = New York, New York, U.S. , death_date = , death_place = ...

and

Susanna Reid Susanna Reid (born 10 December 1970) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was a co-presenter of ''BBC Breakfast'' from 2003 until 2014 alongside Bill Turnbull and Charlie Stayt. In 2013, she finished as a runner-up on the elev ...

from 6:00 am to 8.30 am, every day except Thursdays. On 22 January 2015, Hawkins presented her final show before taking maternity leave; she returned on the show on 15 June. As of 2017, Hawkins serves as newsreader on ''Good Morning Britain'' four mornings a week and covers as a main presenter during holidays and absence. In August 2017, Hawkins took part in the fifteenth series of '' Strictly Come Dancing'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, where she was paired with professional dancer

Brendan Cole Brendan Cole (born 23 April 1976) is a New Zealand ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC One show, ''Strictly Come Dancing''. From 2005 to 2009, he was a j ...

. They were eliminated in the fourth week of the competition. From 7 January 2018 Hawkins presented her own Classic FM music show on Sunday afternoons from 3–5pm; from 5 January 2020, this slot was taken over by

John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter for the '' Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until 2019 he presented on the BBC Radio 4 ...

and Hawkins moved to the ''Smooth Classics at Seven'' slot. Since 6 January 2020, Hawkins has anchored the first 30 minutes of '' Good Morning Britain'' on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday; the programme's air time had been extended. Since January 2022, Hawkins has been the newsreader on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Other work

On 20 November 2020, she announced via her

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that she was releasing a classical music album called ''Mindful Moments'' in time for Christmas. It is a selection of her favourite pieces of classical music and is dedicated to her late father, Frank.

Personal life

Hawkins married her partner of five years, Mark Herbert, on 23 August 2008. The ceremony took place at

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of ...

, where Hawkins' father was a clergyman. It was performed by her uncle, the Rt Revd Richard Hawkins. On 12 August 2014, Hawkins announced live on ''Good Morning Britain'' that the couple were expecting their first child. On 8 February 2015, she gave birth to a baby girl, Ella Rose. Hawkins lives in Surrey. She spends a lot of her time outdoors, and enjoys

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

and

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

Charity

Hawkins supports several charities including the

Motor Neurone Disease Association The Motor Neurone Disease Association (MND Association) focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by motor neurone disease (MND) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. MND is also know ...

of which she is a patron. She is a patron of Ellenor Hospice and an ambassador for Cancer Research UK Kids and Teens. Hawkins supports the

Dogs Trust Dogs Trust, known until 2003 as the National Canine Defence League, is a British animal welfare charity and humane society which specialises in the well-being of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for ov ...

charity. In 2013 she owned a rescue dog named Bailey, who was adopted from the Dogs Trust.

Filmography

;Television ;Guest appearances *''

Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers t ...

'' (2011) *'' This Morning'' (2014, 2015) – guest *''

The British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies gi ...

'' (2014) *'' Let's Do Lunch with Gino & Mel'' (2014) *''

Celebrity Squares ''Celebrity Squares'' is a British comedy game show based on the American comedy game show '' Hollywood Squares''. It first ran from 20 July 1975 to 7 July 1979 and was hosted by Bob Monkhouse, then—also hosted by Monkhouse—from 8 Ja ...

'' (2014) *'' Tipping Point for Text Santa'' (2014) *'' The Chase: Celebrity Special'' (2015) *'' Celebrity Juice'' (2015) *'' Britain's Got More Talent'' (2015) *''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' (2016) *'' Who's Doing the Dishes?'' (2016) *''

All Star Mr & Mrs ''All Star Mr & Mrs'' is a British television show which first began airing on 12 April 2008 on ITV. It is a celebrity revival of the original '' Mr and Mrs'' that aired on ITV from 1968 to 1988 with two separate revivals in 1995–1996 and 1 ...

'' (2016) *'' Celebrity Storage Hunters'' (2016) *''

Richard Osman's House of Games ''Richard Osman's House of Games'' is a British quiz show produced by Banijay (owners of Endemol Shine UK), a branch of Remarkable Television for the BBC. The show is hosted by Richard Osman. It is played on a weekly basis, with four "celebri ...

'' (2020) *''

'' (2021) *'' James Martin's Saturday Morning'' (2021) ;Film

References

External links

WebsiteClassic FM Requests on Classic FMCharlotte Hawkins on Classic FM
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Charlotte 1975 births Alumni of the University of Manchester English television presenters ITV Breakfast presenters and reporters Living people People from Chichester Sky News newsreaders and journalists Television personalities from West Sussex People educated at Bishop Luffa School Alumni of the London College of Printing