Alex Jones has revealed she is still suffering from the effects of Covid with an unusual symptom spoiling her eating habits. The One Show host said she "can't cope" with certain food and drink after developing the bizarre problem with some items losing their appeal completely.
Appearing on the Off Menu podcast, hosted by comedians James Acaster and Ed Gamble, the 46-year-old was tasked with picking her dream meal consisting of a starter, main, side dish, drink, and dessert. After taking the hosts through most of her picks, which took her from childhood holidays in France to Cardiff's Caroline Street, she admitted that she would choose a Bloody Mary as her dream drink.
When asked if she would add anything to the drink, however, she revealed that she had developed an issue with celery after contracting the virus during the pandemic with the vegetable now tasting of something completely different. For more showbiz and TV news sign up to our newsletter here.
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"Celery I used to like," she told Ed and James. "Celery with a bit of salt. I had Covid. Celery now tastes like beef. So I can't cope with it anymore".
James didn't see the problem, however, as he replied: " I bet there are a lot of people listening to this who are jealous. So many people hate celery because they say it tastes of nothing, it’s watery. If it tasted like beef they’d be like: 'Great, it sounds like a Pepperami".
But Alex wasn't having any of it. "No, no, no," she said, before claiming: "You want what you’re eating to taste like what it looks like. Celery now has lost its appeal, I can’t even tell you. But in a Bloody Mary, if it’s spicy enough, it will take the beef element away".
However it isn't just celery that tastes odd for the presenter with her love of red wine also being affected by the virus. "Red wine tastes funny," she said. "And I love red wine. [It tastes] like I’ve got it from the garage – like really cheap, awful. It doesn’t matter how expensive it is, they all taste the same."
The sympathetic hosts couldn't hide their disappointment as Ed admitted it was "gutting" while James added: "That is sad." However, Alex inisted that she was "pushing through" and still enjoys wine with a bottle "always in reserve".
Earlier in the episode the star – who was appearing on the podcast to promote her new BBC show Reunion Hotel – revealed how her first time presenting the One Show nearly descended into chaos after a segment about beavers left guest Whoopi Goldberg in hysterics.
While her debut show started well Alex's repeated use of the word 'beaver' gave the Sister Act star the giggles, forcing her to "go through the gamut of sad things" including thoughts of dead cats and dying of cancer to stop herself from bursting out laughing herself. "We had a VT on beavers," she told Ed and James. "This is day one. So I repeatedly had to say the word ‘beavers’ which Whoopi Goldberg thought was absolutely hysterical and could not control herself. "I was like: ‘Oh my God, be professional’.
"I was thinking about all the sad things, I was pinching my wrist really hard, thinking of dead cats, really sad things, maybe I’ll die of cancer, all of this. I was going through the gamut of sad things to stop myself laughing because this is my first show, I can’t mess it up because Whoopi Goldberg finds the word ‘beaver’ funny".
However she managed to keep it together, adding: "We did get to the end unscathed. Twelve years later, I’m still there, so it was all right."
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