I was viciously bullied in school and I’m still trolled now, reveals Loose Women’s Charlene White

THERE’S something about being in Charlene White’s company that makes you want to try to change the world.

The first black woman to present ITV’s News At 10, as well as Loose Women’s first black anchor, she’s trailblazed her way to the top on her own terms – without ever forgetting her roots along the way.

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“One thing that’s always been important for me is being honest about where I’m from, where my parents are from, and how hard they’ve worked.

“The reality of growing up in south-east London and as a child of immigrants means nothing was ever being handed to [me] on a plate,” she says. 

“It’s important for kids to understand the realities of how hard people have worked to get to where they are.

“But if you have determination, you can do the things that you want to in your life. Lewisham is one of the poorest boroughs in the country – but where you grow up does not determine who you are going to become if you don’t want it to.”

Charlene, 42, who jokes it’s only taken her 20 years to be an overnight success, attributes her strong work ethic to her Jamaican-born parents, Dorrett – who passed away from bowel cancer at just 47 in 2002 – and Dennis.

“They worked five or six jobs between them to be able to send me [to private school].

“My dad would leave for work at 5.30am and get home after 10pm. They made a lot of sacrifices in order to give us an education that they didn’t have.”

Ironically, given her huge success, Charlene’s parents didn’t want her to study journalism at all. 

“They were very much against it,” she says.

“My older cousin read law at Cambridge, so my parents thought: ‘Brilliant! She’s going to Oxbridge as well,’ and I was like: ‘No, I want to be a journalist.’ “I said: ‘You can’t raise an independently minded young woman, and then when she makes an independently minded decision, tell her no. You can’t have it both ways.’ 

“They were quite upset and thought I was going to spend most of my life being unemployed and unhappy.” 

Thankfully, she proved them wrong.

“For my dad, when I did News At 10, that was a really big moment for him because everybody was watching and he said: ‘I’m very proud of you.’”

Family has always been at the forefront of Charlene’s mind.

After landing an internship at the New York Post at 19, during her journalism degree at London College of Printing, she was living her very own Sex And The City life, until her mum’s illness saw her return to London.

“She was diagnosed when I was 16 and she passed away when I was 22,” she says. “I’m the eldest of three.

“My place was to be at home with the kids, my dad and my mum. I came back thinking about what my life could have been, but it worked out. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Charlene reveals that she often discussed the pain of losing her mum with The Sun’s columnist Deborah James, who died from bowel cancer in June.

“We worked together on a bowel cancer project for Lorraine, then we had long conversations about loss and making plans for a child’s future when you know that you may not be here,” she says. 

“Deb was an amazing woman. The impact that she’s had [on] people regarding their own cancer diagnosis and living with cancer has been incredible. She was – and still is – a shining light.”

For my dad, when I did News At 10, that was a really big moment for him because everybody was watching and he said: ‘I’m very proud of you.’

Charlene White

Like all working mums, Charlene knows the juggle is real, and she has her two children – Alfie, five, and Florence, two – in tow at our shoot. 

“Their dad [Charlene’s long-term partner Andy, an executive TV producer, who prefers to stay out of the spotlight] and I juggle it together.

“We’ve got two children and we both love the work that we do. We use family a lot [for our childcare], but what’s important is the kids understand what I do – although they have zero interest and get really confused when people recognise me! 

“I need them to know what work is. I had two working parents who worked a lot to give us a better life. That is my normal. I’m the best parent by doing something I love.”

Given her stellar career trajectory – from uni to BBC Radio 1Xtra, then ITV News and in 2021 joining Loose Women – you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all been plain sailing for Charlene.

But, she says, she was just a child when she first encountered racism – and she still experiences it today. 

“I was seven and I didn’t know I was different until that moment,” she says.

“When I moved [to a private school], they weren’t used to kids like me, and that was really hard.

“I think my parents were prepared for it, because when I was told to go back to where I came from, and that I ‘looked like poo’, my parents were instantly up at the school, because they knew what it’s like to grow up in an incredibly racist environment.”

Since landing her role on Loose Women, the racial abuse online – which started when she began presenting the news – has only increased, but Charlene chooses to confront it head on.

“I love replying to trolls online now,” she says.

“It’s like: ‘She’s only got the job because they need to add another black person so they decided to choose her.’ After a 20-year career, yeah, they’ve picked me out of nowhere to do this job!

I love replying to trolls online now.

Charlene White

“The first time I walked into a newsroom, I was 16 years old. I’ve been toiling away for a long time. They may have been wanting to have more representation, but I know that I’m more than capable of doing the job.”

Now, like her parents before her, Charlene is preparing her own children by speaking openly about race. 

“My son is going into year one and it’s something that I’m acutely aware of, but we’ve made sure that they always have a range of books [featuring a mix of black and white characters].

“My daughter plays with dolls that look like her and ones that don’t look like her. We have mixed friendship groups and we talk honestly about race.

“I’m guessing when my son first started talking about it, someone had said something to him. I was prepared and talked about the fact that they are a mix of Mummy and Daddy, two cultures and two people. We are very honest and we don’t shy away from it.”

Even accepting the Loose Women role raised eyebrows from some people, concerned Charlene was “dumbing down” from being a “proper newsreader”.

“They thought it was devaluing and diluting what I do on the news. My response is: people can consume news in lots of different ways.

“For me, Loose Women is an extension of what I do on the news and giving people information in a slightly different way.

“All networks have realised that we have to be representative. We have to represent the audience.” 

On October 22, 2020, Loose Women did just that, making history by featuring an all-black panel – comprised of Charlene, alongside Brenda Edwards, Judi Love and Kéllé Bryan – for the first time in its two decades on air. It was, says Charlene, a hugely significant moment. 

“I’ve come from an era of telly where the mere thought of having four black women on TV was just like: ‘Oh my god, they’ll never watch, people will turn off!’ And what’s wonderful is people are now realising that if you have a good product, and good people, then viewers will watch it.

“The reason I scream and shout about [having an all-black panel on Loose Women] is people realise what’s been missing.

The reason I scream and shout about [having an all-black panel on Loose Women] is people realise what’s been missing.

Charlene White

“Nobody ever said: ‘Oh, it’s an all-white panel.’ If you’re not the one that’s been trying desperately to get particular jobs and being held back because of your race, you may not necessarily have noticed it. 

“When I was in my 20s, I remember a commissioner saying to me: ‘Never try to get into entertainment, because black people don’t rate, so we don’t put black presenters on entertainment programmes.’ 

“That just isn’t true. But that’s what I was told. One thing that’s been constant in my career is no one can tell me what I can and can’t do according to my race.

“I will do what I want to do, even if I have to work really hard to convince people, because I don’t want another generation to have to be perceived in that way.”

Charlene is also sick of the endless speculation that the Loose Women all hate each other.

“It’s sexist!” she exclaims. “Back in the day, when the Today programme was all men, were articles written about them fighting?

“No. When there were all-male Match Of The Day panels, were articles written about the men falling out constantly?

“No. But you have the only all-female panel of women on a high-profile programme, and all they want to talk about is that. Have we not moved on from that? Women are and always have been more than that.

“[Loose Women is] more than that – especially during the pandemic. For a lot of people, we were the programme that was keeping them company, educating them and trying to hold their hand as they tried to work out what was happening. 

“Loose Women is the tapestry of Britain because it’s not coming from any one point of view, part of the UK, class or industry. We all come from all over and have different backgrounds – and that is what Britain is. 

“When we have disagreements on the show, we can move on and viewers see we’re still friends.”

Aside from being a job, Charlene has also made some life-long friends on the show. She cites Denise Welch as one of her besties.

I remember a commissioner saying to me: ‘Never try to get into entertainment, because black people don’t rate, so we don’t put black presenters on entertainment programmes.

“Being with Denise is like being with the naughty girl at the back of class. She’s always writing me notes during the programme and it’s very inappropriate things that I cannot say on air, and she’ll be absolutely p**sing herself laughing about it,” she says. 

“I adore Brenda and I tell her off a lot. I love the relationship I have with those women.

“Linda [Robson] would say: ‘I thought when you started: “She’s just very sensible and she won’t necessarily be up for a laugh because she does the news.”’

“Then we started working together and she said: ‘Oh my god, you’re nothing like that!’ She was in a state of shock. 

“There are different facets of me. I can still be the person that does Loose Women and exactly the same person who reads News At 10. Just because I like doing news doesn’t mean I can’t laugh at things, too.”

Charlene is yet to attend one of the infamous Loose Women nights out, saying: “All I keep hearing about are the raucous nights out, so I absolutely cannot wait for that.”

But she did recently go with some of the rest of the panel to Jamal’s House, a festival held in tribute to Brenda’s son Jamal, who tragically passed away earlier this year, aged 31. 

She says: “When we went to Jamal’s House, I had to stop Wayne Bridge [husband of Loose Women’s Frankie] coming back to my house for an after-party. 

I was like: ‘Wayne, literally, my kids are fast asleep!’ That’s the kind of friendship that we all have. 

“The fact that I get to go out with all of these women that I have grown up watching from afar, and get to be mates with them… I still can’t believe it.” 

• Watch Loose Women, weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV and on ITV Hub.

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