In the summer of 2024, after a four-year hunt for the ideal family abode, The One Show presenter Alex Jones discovered a Georgian property near Tittenhurst Park in Berkshire with a fascinating showbiz past. "John Lennon owned it at one point and so did Ringo Starr," she revealed.

Almost two years later, Alex and her husband, Charlie Thomson, are still diligently refurbishing the property, which had been equipped with numerous "care home chic" features by its previous elderly occupants.

Alex, who is celebrating her 49th birthday today, shared with fans in a recent Instagram post: "As the house is four bedrooms, we need an extra one for guests to stay, so we're planning on an annexe in the garden."

She added that a perk of having a separate annexe would be that she could temporarily relocate there "when the going gets tough with the main build."

"We need to do a lot of work but the bones of the house are lovely," Alex told The Times. The area is highly sought-after, with properties in nearby Sunningdale selling for an average of nearly £1.3 million, reports Wales Online.

Detached homes sold for an average of £2,449,895, while semi-detached properties fetched £630,571.

Alex confessed she purchased the house on a whim, without her husband even seeing it. He had been visiting relatives in New Zealand when she first viewed the property.

"When Charlie got back, I said, 'Listen, I've sort of bought a house so we better go and see it.' Luckily he loved it immediately. It felt like home when we walked in."

Whether Alex will have the opportunity to press ahead with the renovation this year may hinge on speculation linking her to a possible presenting role on Strictly Come Dancing this autumn.

Alex, alongside BBC Radio 2 DJ Sara Cox, Mel Giedroyc, and Zoe Ball, has been mooted for the role, with sources suggesting the programme could be "freshened up" by introducing a third host.

Nevertheless, Alex has emphasised she is taking her time with the renovation, revealing she and Charlie have learned the importance of not starting any work until they are completely ready.

Reflecting on the renovation of their former home in Chiswick, west London, she said: "We got really overexcited last time, did it all in a bit of a rush and then had to redo parts. Sometimes people put too much pressure on themselves to move in and get it all sorted."

She told Homebuilding & Renovating magazine: "We only want to do it once, and we want to get it right."

While one of the features she fell in love with is the Georgian property's spacious, mature garden, she has suggested she wants to transform it into a more peaceful and practical outdoor area.

Alex is also restoring original features, including a fireplace in the playroom that had been concealed for years. "I love how cosy the space is, but I do think we need to lighten it up a little," she said.

She has also put together a mood board to guide the interior design. "I find the process of scrapbooking so handy as a starting point for a new project," she explained.

"Ahead of our new renovation project I've been looking through my last scrapbook from our old house and it's really lovely to see how many ideas made it into the real things. My absolute favourite thing to do is to browse through interior magazines. My friends and I often share them and I gratefully receive all their old copies so that I can chop them up and use them as inspiration."

She noted that the activity itself is soothing: "Scrapbooking is a great way to get the creative juices flowing."

Alongside the demands of renovating, Charlie has also faced significant health challenges in recent years, including battling Lyme disease and viral meningitis, and enduring a lengthy recovery.

"He's in a way better place now to where we were a year ago, but diet has played a huge part in that," Alex said on The MidPoint. "We always eat relatively well but he's quite into nutrition."

Alex added that she is also conscious of her own wellbeing: "I think what drives me is the fact that we have got three young children, and I feel, for them, I need to do the best to preserve myself."