Charlotte Hawkins found herself ‘reassessing’ her life after a major milestone (Image: ITV)
Good Morning Britain’s Charlotte Hawkins says she “reassessed” her life after she hit a major personal milestone. It came a decade after her father Frank died from motor neurone disease.
Charlotte began her broadcasting career on ITN in 1999 before going on to present on the likes of LBC and Sky’s Sunrise. She joined ITV and Good Morning Britain in 2014, anchoring the show and working as the newsreader. Earlier this year she celebrated her 50th birthday. And she says hitting the big milestone offered a moment of self-reflection.
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Charlotte celebrated her 50th birthday in May (Image: Getty)
Speaking to the Sun’s Fabulous magazine, Charlotte said: “I turned 50 in May, and it does make you reassess your outlook and how you deal with things. At the end of the day, you want to have a nice life.
“So you’ve got to focus on whatver brings you joy, and a lot of that for me is Ella-Rose, my husband Mark [Herbert, 52, a drinks executive] and our family and friends,making lovely memories.”
Charlotte admits she initially struggled with nerves in her early television days, describing it as the “fake it until you make it thing”. Charlotte however says she took inspiration from Frank, a vicar, watching on as he would deliver sermons to his congregation.
In 2011, Frank was however unexpectedly diagnosed with motor neurone disease. It means Charlotte often finds the Christmas period somewhat bittersweet.
Although she says Frank’s death also led to a shift in her perspective. She added: “When my dad died 10 years ago from motor neurone disease, aged 78, I realised life is short – you have to seize every moment. His diagnosis was unexpected, and we didn’t have very long left with him.”
Charlotte’s dad Frank died a decade ago (Image: Getty)
Charlotte has since become a patron of the MND Association. Through the charity she says she has seen how artificial intelligence (AI) can help people diagnosed with the condition
During a segment on GMB in August, she said: “I just want to flag a positive use of AI because I am a patron of Motor Neurone Disease Association and this one caught my eye. There is a lady called Sarah Ezekiel, now she has motor neurone disease and one of the hardest things for people with motor neurone disease is losing your voice.
“And by the power of AI her voice has been replicated after finding a small video clip and they managed to use AI and this is the voice that it gave her.”
Charlotte then said she found Sarah’s story “emotional” after Frank’s battle with MND. Battling back tears, Charlotte confessed: “I feel really emotional because my dad lost his voice and that is one of the hardest things with people with MND, when you can’t hear your fathers voice anymore.”
She continued: “I know for her children, they couldn’t remember what her voice sounded like so actually to be able to hear your mum’s voice like that must have been so special. It’s amazing, I am so pleased for her.”
