Live TV can be unpredictable, but for Alex Jones the biggest surprise is sometimes her own memory.

The One Show presenter, 47, has revealed that she has begun to forget her guests’ names while presenting the BBC’s The One Show – claiming it is due to perimenopause.

Speaking on the White Wine Question Time podcast, the Welsh TV show host said: ‘Sometimes I can be sitting on The One Show, and thankfully our audience are super nice and they’ve known me for so long now that I think they forgive quite a lot, bless them. 

‘But sometimes I’m looking at a guest thinking “oh no I don’t know what your name is”.

‘We can be in the middle of an interview, and it doesn’t happen very often thankfully, but it can happen and I think that’s part of it, I just have a complete blank.

‘Most of the time it’ll come back just in time but I’ve noticed it more and more.’

Live TV can be unpredictable, but for Alex Jones the biggest surprise is sometimes her own memory

The One Show presenter has revealed that she has begun to forget her guests’ names while presenting the BBC ‘s The One Show – claiming it is due to perimenopause

Ms Jones, a mother-of-one, added that women are ‘luckier’ now because menopause symptoms are more widely discussed and recognised.

Perimenopause occurs when a woman is still having periods but begins to experience menopause symptoms due to a drop in oestrogen levels.

Symptoms can include anxiety, mood swings, memory loss and H๏τ flushes.

Podcast host Kate Thornton, 52, said her own ‘inability to focus’ was linked to perimenopause but suggested that Ms Jones was ‘too young’ to be experiencing it.

Ms Jones, who has been a mainstay on The One Show for 15 years, replied: ‘No, I am in the middle of that trench. 

‘We’re so much luckier now that we’re talking about it but it used to be people were talking about these H๏τ flushes and not being able to sleep and of course we all get that, especially before your period’s due, that always happens to me—I know the period’s coming.

‘Those classic signs, there’s so much more to it and we all know much more about it now. I think it’s starting to hit me. 

‘I had one of those blood tests, I went to the GP and they were like “no” and I was like “well how no because I’m 47, I must be”.’

Long-time campaigner Davina McCall has tried to raise awareness and normalise discussions around menopause, as has Gaby Logan and Emma Thompson 

Davina recently blasted a BBC documentary over fears it could deter women from seeking hormone replacement therapy 

She is not the only high-profile woman to speak openly about menopause.

Long-time campaigner Davina McCall has tried to raise awareness and normalise discussions around menopause, as has Gaby Logan and Emma Thompson.

Davina recently blasted a BBC documentary over fears it could deter women from seeking hormone replacement therapy.

The Menopause Industry Uncovered, which aired on BBC One’s Panorama, raised concerns that Dr Louise Newson, a GP specialising in menopause, had been prescribing excessively high doses of HRT.

Read More ‘I just lost something of myself’: Davina McCall opens up on ‘frightening’ symptoms of menopause as she gives advice to help other women

Ms McCall has previously hailed the controversial medic as ‘my fountain of knowledge’ and breaking her silence on the programme, she appeared to defend her against the latest criticism.

Speaking to her two million followers on Instagram, the presenter said: ‘Investigating one doctor doesn’t mean that everyone is wrong.’

She took to social media to air her frustrations, as she said that the documentary which was fronted by fellow broadcaster Kirsty Wark, left her feeling ‘disappointed’ for its portrayal of hormone replacement therapy.

Ms McCall said: ‘I felt like it was a bit of a step backwards last night which is a shame.

‘Once again, it was designed to put us off trying to take hormone replacement therapy.’

The star, who has been open about her own experiences with menopause, criticised the documentary for what she saw as a missed opportunity to support women.

She said: ‘HRT can be a lifeline – it was a lifeline for me.’

Ms McCall, the host of ITV show My Mum, Your Dad, did praise Ms Wark, saying: ‘I just want to say how much I love and respect and Kirsty Wark, she did a documentary in 2017 about the menopause. I often name check her as being one of the OG (original) menopause warriors, so big up to Kirsty.’

HRT is prescribed to ease the debilitating symptoms ᴀssociated with menopause, such as H๏τ flushes, mood swings and brain fog.

Gwyneth Paltrow also opened up about her own experience in 2021 on The Goop Podcast, saying: ‘I’m solidly in perimenopause. Everything is totally irregular and a surprise all the time’

It can be prescribed as a gel, spray, tablet or patch, with the highest licensed dose of oestrogen being 100 micrograms per day.

But the Panorama investigation found patients at Dr Newson’s privately-run clinics who had serious complications from high-dose HRT prescriptions, including several women who developed thickening of their womb linings, a potential precursor to cancer.

The Care Quality Commission has said it is investigating ‘information of concern’ relating to the clinics. 

Elsewhere, Gwyneth Paltrow opened up about her own experience in 2021 on The Goop Podcast, saying: ‘I’m solidly in perimenopause. Everything is totally irregular and a surprise all the time. My emotions are all over the place as well. Sometimes I get in bed at night and my heart races.

‘We’re embarrᴀssed about it. I think we need to stop thinking about it as the end of something and more as the beginning of another chapter,’ she said.