Alex Jones Gymnastics show will be the new Strictly

She’s TV’s golden girl-next-door and millions tune in every weeknight to see her. Now The One Show’s Alex Jones has Saturdays in her sights and she’s told The Sunday Post that she wants her latest show to be the new Strictly.

Following on from the likes of Dancing on Ice and Splash!, which saw celebs take the plunge off the high diving board, it’s now gymnastics being given a star-friendly telly makeover.

Tumble sees 10 famous faces, including Andrea McLean and Girls Aloud’s Sarah Harding, doing gruelling groundwork to try to make gymnastics look graceful. The six-part live BBC One series kicks off in a few weeks.

“The team behind Strictly are making it and I’m sure they’ll sprinkle it with the same sort of fairy dust,” says 37-year-old Alex, who’s hosting the BBC’s Live At Edinburgh Castle concert on Saturday.

“Hopefully it’ll be another brand because it’s time for something else to come through. We’ve been hanging off Strictly and X Factor for a long time, so it’d be nice to offer something else on a Saturday night.”

Alex is no stranger to live Saturday night thrills, having come fifth in Strictly on 2011. But being the host of Tumble, which has Olympics legend Nadia Comeneci and British medal champs Beth Tweddle and Louis Smith involved, is something else altogether.

“This is the icing on the cake for me,” admits Alex. “It complements The One Show as it’s the same BBC audience. I’m absolutely happy with my lot and this is just such a lovely bonus. I’ve just met the judges for the first time. None of us really knows how it’s going to go, we’re in the same position as the audience.”

It’s just the latest rung on the rise and rise of the fabulous Miss Jones to the top of British broadcasting.

Less than four years ago no one outside her native Wales had a clue who she was. Then the BBC plucked her from being a local telly name to national stardom as Christine Bleakley’s One Show replacement. Alex admits the BBC were looking for a clone, even trying to style her like her predecessor.

Her success is perhaps all the more remarkable given her headmaster reckoned she was the last person who’d make it on TV and she was sacked twice from TV researcher jobs! But a few minutes in her company is enough to see why she’s made it.

Alex is every bit as bright, bubbly and fun as she comes across on screen. At her core, Welsh steel runs through her.

“I think the media have portrayed me as being a little bit airy fairy,” she says firmly. “That somehow I’ve spoken up, done well and landed on The One Show.

“Well, it doesn’t happen like that. It’s all hard work and I’ve always been very conscientious. Complacency is the worst thing that can happen and my mum and dad didn’t bring me up to be complacent.

“Even after nearly four years, I still watch every show back and try to make adjustments to do it better. I know there’s a queue of people round the block wanting this job so I realise how lucky I am.”

Alex insists that the family-friendly nature of The One Show means she can go through life with surprising normality. She says her personal life hasn’t changed at all since 2010.

“I’m not one of those people who get swept up in the moment. My feet are very firmly on the ground. My parents wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She has, though, moved from Wales and is now happily settled in a smart London home she’s been doing up with boyfriend Charlie Thomson.

Alex, who previously dated TV presenter Matt Johnson, has been with New Zealander Charlie for two years. Might marriage be on the cards?

“Well, that’s not something I’d be deciding,” she smiles. “I’m old fashioned that way so I’d have to wait to be asked.”

She’s now doting aunt to her sister Jennie’s two-year-old bundle of joy Dash and she admits: “I’ve always wanted children and I definitely want them at some point.

“But everyone’s life takes different directions. For my sister, it was the right time. For me, there are a lot of things still going on. You’ve got to just take the ride and, when it happens, it happens.

“But until you have your first niece or nephew you don’t realise you can actually love somebody’s child like that. Dash is the best thing that’s happened to the family.”

Alex’s infectious nature makes you think she’d be the kind of aunt any kid would want. She concedes she is the one that does “the fun stuff”, giggling as she recalls sneaking off for a few goes on the merry-go-round at a recent lunch.

But her hefty BBC salary isn’t splashed on big present-buying. She says, “We don’t have a history of spoiling in our family.”

Money was on her mind earlier this year, however, when she scaled a 1,200-ft sheer sandstone cliff in Utah for Sport Relief. It took two-and-a-half terrifying days and she had to sleep and go to the loo strapped on to it.

Such is the nation’s affection for Alex, millions followed her every heart-stopping move, and she reckons around £1.8 million has now been raised.

“It was brutal and it was hard for my mum and dad and my partner because it was really dangerous and they were waiting for news. But I saw the little orphaned kids the money was going to and it was worth every minute.”

Live At Edinburgh Castle is being held ahead of the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, with a glittering line-up including Kaiser Chiefs and Paloma Faith. Bill Bailey and Fred MacAulay will add a dash of humour.

“I love Edinburgh, I’ve spent many a weekend there,” says Alex, before adding: “What, party weekends? Oh no, I don’t do parties or late nights. Well, OK there might have been the odd one!”

The conveyor belt of nightly guests on The One Show, which Alex presents with Matt Baker and Chris Evans, means some encounters inevitably go better than others.

“Bruce Willis would rank as pretty high on the ‘shockers’ list as he didn’t realise it was live and had a dry sense of humour that didn’t translate,” she concedes with a sigh.

“Dolly Parton is probably my favourite. But when Chris told Gerard Butler I fancied him, I died on the spot. Gerard was a lot of fun and quite playful, but I’m not sure he’s marriage material!”

Live At Edinburgh Castle is on BBC1 on Saturday night.