Charlotte Dawson is a reality telly ICON. We loved her on Ex On The Beach, despite her then ropey taste in men *cough* Gary Beadle *cough* and were delighted by her turn on Celebs Go Dating.
These days, she's swapped bad dates for planning a wedding to rugby player Matt Sarsfield, who proposed in front of a statue of her late dad, Les Dawson.
And the invite list looks just as legendary as Charlotte herself. When Closer caught up with Charlotte she casually dropped two huge names that will be watching her walk down the aisle::a[I'm a Celeb]{href='https://closeronline.co.uk/entertainment/soaps/im-celeb-lineup/' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'} stars Jaqueline Jossa and Helen Flanagan.
“I hope they’ll both be there," she told us. "Jacqueline is such a funny girl and Helen is just amazing. She always makes me laugh – I’ll definitely be watching her on I’m A Celeb: All Stars and willing her to win. She’s lovely and such a good friend. I’ll always support her.”
Get us on that invite list too, please.
“My fairy tale came true,” Charlotte said when she Matt proposed in September 2020. “I feel the luckiest girl in the world; my dad got to witness me get engaged.”
Closer chatted with Closer later that month, and she told us more about her plans for her big day.
She told us. “My mum and dad taught me the meaning of marriage. I’ve watched their wedding video and the way my dad looks at my mum is unbelievable. It gives me goosebumps. It [their marriage] has taught me how real they were. The materialistic things mean nothing, as long as you’ve got each other.”
Charlotte’s parents tied the knot in 1983. Tragically, Les was struck down by a fatal heart attack ten years later, when Charlotte was just eight months old.
While the star admits the thought of her dad not being there to celebrate her big day is “heartbreaking”, she knows he’ll be there in spirit – and she’s going to make sure he has a special part to play. She says, “I’ll probably have all my dad’s jokes.”
True to her comic nature, Charlotte will bring her cardboard cut-out of her famous dad along too, just as she did at her baby gender reveal. But it will be her mum walking her down the aisle. She says, “It’s heartbreaking not having dad, but I’m thankful I’ve still got my mum.”
She went on, “Matthew’s ideal wedding would be abroad, but I’d like it to be in a church or a castle. I don’t think I’ll be turning up in a horse and carriage, but I’ll be rocking up in something fabulous. I always like to make an entrance!”
Her dress – or rather, dresses – will be equally as spectacular, with the star planning to have around five outfit changes throughout the day.
The Ex On The Beach star wants her main gown to ooze glitz and glamour, designed in a flattering fishtail shape with lots of diamante gems.
And, unsurprisingly, guests will have the opportunity to tuck into Charlotte’s favourite food after the ceremony: chips and gravy.
She reveals, “I want a gravy fountain instead of a chocolate one. Then you can dip the chips into the gravy. How amazing is that?”
With three maids of honour and ten bridesmaids, Charlotte says her hen party will be “the craziest thing ever”.
She hopes to jet off to Majorca for a combination of nice meals, boat trips and boozy nights out in Magaluf. But there’s one thing Charlotte hopes will be off the cards: strippers. She laughs, “Matt would go ballistic!”
NOW CHECK OUT:
Forbidden CGD couples
1 of 12Stephanie Pratt and Joey Essex in series 1
When the show was just a little bitty baby in 2016, Stephanie and Joey were its first ever forbidden celeb couple. Then dating expert Nadia Essex certainly made her feelings known as later Steph told us, "I try to block out bad memories, but she didn't accept that Joey and I were dating. She was evil to me when I was dating Joey, on and off camera."She was flirting with Joey."
2 of 12Eden Blackman and Chanel Sadie Paul in series 2
So this was QUITE the scandal at the time. Then dating coach Eden ended up hooking up with one of the civilian daters, Chanel, a Kim Kardashian lookalike who was brought in to date IRL Kim's best mate Jonathan Cheban (awks). It all crumbled though when Chanel found out he'd been two timing her and shared the messages online.
3 of 12Charlotte Dawson and Frankie Cocozza in series 3
She might be settled down with a baby on the way now, but back in 2017 Charlotte looked to the dating agents to find her love with a civilian. Instead, she found a "genuine connection" with disgraced X Factor star Frankie, before accusing him of using her for air time. The pair no longer speak.
4 of 12Tallia Storm and Seb Morris on series 4
Ok, ok, so not STRICTLY a forbidden romance, but Tallia and Seb were the OG exes on the show (to be extremely outshone by Pete Wicks and Megan McKenna two series later) and it was SO CLEAR when the agents had them in a room together that there was still LOADS of chemistry between them.
5 of 12Olivia Attwood and Sam Craske in series 5
Love Island's Olivia certainly had options on the show, reportedly hooking up with Ibiza Weekender's Callum Izzard,too. But it was Diversity Dancer and Jesy Nelson's ex Sam who she attended the final with, and fans were overjoyed at the union.
6 of 12Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks in series 6
Easily the most enduring love affair to have come from the show, Pete and Sam each met their soulmates in each other in series six and are still the best of friends today (even if their relationship does revolve around Pete ripping into Sam).
7 of 12Jack Fincham and Lauren Goodger in series 7
These two Essex natives seem like the perfect match on paper, which is why we were gutted not to see more of their relationship play out. TOWIE's Lauren dropped some major hints she'd been getting intimate with the Love Island winner, but later left the agency early to focus on herself.
8 of 12Megan Barton Hanson and Demi Sims in series 7
After breaking up with her Love Island boyfriend Wes Nelson, Megan admitted she was bi-sexualand on CGD dated both guys and girls. She hit it off with TOWIE's Demi and the two ended the series trying to make a go of it, but it wasn't to last.
9 of 12Josh Ritchie and Olivia Bentley on series 8
Made in Chelsea's poshest export Liv joined the agency looking for a bit of rough and found it in newly single Josh Ritchie, who'd just split from Charlotte Crosby. The pair were photographed snogging at a party and they both admitted to fancying each other.
10 of 12James Lock and Alison Hammond on series 8
Liv was also briefly linked to TOWIE's James but we much preferred the rumours about a romance with daytime telly hun Alison."I fell in love with James Lock on the show. This Greek God," she said at the time. "He did say one thing to me, he actually said, 'Alison you're my perfect girlfriend, personality-wise'."I was absolutely devastated. So I went to the gym and worked out. So personality-wise I'm his perfect girl!"
11 of 12Pete Wicks and Shaughna Phillips in series 9
The celebs might have to maintain a safe distance for 2020's virtual series, but that didn't stop Pete and Love Island's Shaughna hitting it off. She denied any romance but admitted, "Anna and Paul have actually said to me that they think me and Pete are alike in the sense that we kind of go along with things to be nice."That could be a perfect chemistry… He's probably not my type on paper, but he's lovely."
12 of 12Tom Zanetti and Sophie Hermann
Despite Celebs Go Dating the Mansion being rife with rumours of celeb pairings, it was superstar DJ Tom Zanetti and Made in Chelsea heiress Sophie Hermann who made a go of things. Viewers watched the pair flirt their way through the series before finally being set up on a date by Pau and Anna, with Anna telling Closer exclusively that "if a celeb starts to gravitate toward another celebrity, it is something we explore but we also try and keep them on the path of dating regular folk as well."