Alex Jones was back on The One Show on Wednesday, June 3, after missing Monday and Tuesday’s broadcasts while she was ill. She returned to the One sofa alongside Angellica Bell, who opened the programme with a brisk announcement: “Good news, everyone. Alex is back!”
Jones’s return mattered because the weekday 7pm show had been carrying on without one of its best-known presenters, with JB Gill stepping in alongside Roman Kemp for the two previous episodes. On Wednesday, the shift was over and the familiar pairing was restored, giving viewers the programme’s regular rhythm back just as new guests Dara Ó Briain and Shania Twain were set to appear.
The moment also came with a small dose of honesty from Jones. When asked if she was feeling better, she said, “I am slightly croaky, but we’ll get through it,” and added that she had “nearly recovered” after being unwell. It was not a grand relaunch or a carefully managed return. It was simply a presenter coming back before she was completely over whatever had kept her away.
That plainspoken update fits the way Jones has long been identified with the programme. She has presented The One Show since 2010 and has become one of its best known faces, a status that has only grown over time. Last year, she said she felt incredibly proud to have been on the iconic sofa for all these years. Her absence for two weekdays was short, but on a live show built around routine and familiarity, even a brief gap is noticeable.
For now, the unanswered part is the illness itself. Jones did not say what had kept her off air, and no further health update was given beyond her saying she had nearly recovered. What viewers did get was a return to normal service, a croaky but cheerful apology, and the reassurance that the show’s regular host was back in place on the night she returned.
For more on the programme’s history, see The One Show Rose unveiled to mark 20 years of the programme.
