Charlotte Dawson only gave birth to her youngest son, Jude, five months ago, has her hands full with her two-year-old toddler, Noah, and has been performing back-to-back in pantomime during the past month – so you’d be forgiven for thinking Charlotte is hoping for a quiet Christmas this year.
But the bubbly star – whose house is adorned with not one but three extravagant Christmas trees, including a 5ft pink tree in her bedroom, giant-sized ornaments and festive garlands – admits she’s not holding back this year.
Charlotte, 31, tells Closer, “I’ve gone all out – it’s got to be like this in Chazza’s house. I used to go big on Christmas before I had kids, now it’s times 10! I’ve always been extra with all my trees, I’ve sorted Christmas Eve boxes for the boys, and will make giant footprints outside the house. I want to make it really special and see the look on their faces when they think Santa’s been.”
And the star, whose comedian dad Les Dawson tragically passed away when she was just eight months old, admits she still marks the festivities with him. “On Christmas morning, Mum and I will take the boys to see my dad’s statue in Blackpool. I’ll give him a cuddle, wish him a merry Christmas and stick a festive hat on him. Noah will be running up and shouting, ‘Grandad Yes’ – he can’t quite say Les! Jude will be with us for the first time this year, so that’ll be special.”
But Charlotte reveals she has an even more poignant reason for making the most of her celebrations this year. The star, who’s engaged to former rugby star Matt Sarsfield, endured a terrifying ordeal back in October when Jude contracted RSV (a viral infection of the lungs) at just seven weeks old. Despite repeatedly visiting doctors – who advised Jude likely just had a cold – Charlotte rushed him to A&E after noticing changes to his skin colour.
She explains, “Jude woke me up with the loudest scream in the middle of the night – it wasn’t like his normal cry, and I knew it was out of character. It was so scary. He wasn’t feeding even though he usually loves the udders! His breathing slowed right down, and he couldn’t catch his breath. Suddenly the colour changed in him, he went really grey.”
Frighteningly for Charlotte, medics later told her that if she’d have waited any longer, she would’ve faced a different fate altogether. She says, “They saw him and straight away they said, ‘Thank God you’ve brought him in now, because he would’ve died if it was 24 hours later.’ I was in utter shock. He was so low on oxygen, he ended up staying on it for six days. When he was getting hooked up to the machines it was heartbreaking. Noah came to see him and kept saying, ‘Mummy, I don’t like seeing Jude with all the wires.’”
She adds, “It made me realise what life is about and put everything into perspective. If anything happened to Jude, I don’t know what I would’ve done – having him has made my year and he’s our little miracle.”
But there was no rest for Charlotte when, weeks later, Matt Sarsfield ended up in hospital with kidney stone complications. She says, “There’s been a lot of pressure lately. Matt had an operation that went wrong, he was in absolute agony and ended up in hospital for few days. It was really tough trying to solo parent. I was starting panto rehearsals that week and had jobs in London to get to, but I’m lucky we have a good family network around us. There’s never a dull moment in my house!”
Although they have their hands full, broody Charlotte says she’s still planning on adding to her family and recently suspected she was pregnant with her third child. “It is really hard for Matt and I with a baby and a toddler. We’re working all the time, and we bicker like an old married couple. Date nights are a thing of the past right now, but we’ve got a night out planned for the two of us. A few weeks ago I took a pregnancy test; I was drinking wine and it didn’t taste right, so I thought, ‘Hang on, am I pregnant?’ I took a test, and it was negative. We’d still love another baby, but after we’ve got married. I’m so glad I’ve had my boys first, I have an amazing bond with them, but I’d love a little girl I can dress up and play Barbies with.”
Over the years, Charlotte has gained praise from her followers for “keeping it real”, racking up millions of views on social media of her shaking her “belleh” in her underwear. While she lost a whopping 3st 7lbs after having Noah, she’s refusing to feel pressure to slim down. She says, “I’m proud of my body, it’s given me two children. I have got flubber all over and tiger stripes, but I tell myself I’m fabulous and then I really do feel it. I do have tough times when I’m trying on my outfits. I wasreally slim before I had Jude, I looked and felt amazing, and now I’m back to square one. But I just embrace the flubber – it’ll come off in its own time. I’m not hiding this beltin’ belly!”
True to her word, Charlotte admits she couldn’t think of anything worse than being on a diet over Christmas. She says, “I’ve had friends bringing me Maccies during panto. It’s hard to be on a diet, you just want to stuff your face! I’m going full hog on the Christmas dinner. I can’t wait for my pigs in chuffin’ blankets. I’m going to have glittery gravy and make crispy and sexy roasties with parmesan and the creamiest mash. I’m not keen on Christmas pud, but I’ll have sticky toffee pudding and apple crumble.”
She adds, “Most of all, I just can’t to wait put my bunions up, have a nice glass of Baileys or Champers and chill. It’s been a tough year, so I’m hoping for bigger, better and more fabulous things in 2024.”
