TV presenter Alex Jones has told how she feared she had left it too late to have a baby after being “shocked” to discover that her mother went through the menopause at 44.

The One Show host, 39, recently revealed she is pregnant with her first child with husband Charlie Thomson.

She discovered she was expecting after filming documentary Fertility And Me, in which she delved into the little-known facts about conception and the issues that can come with having a baby at an older age.

Alex Jones and Charlie Thomson (Ian West/PA)

Alex told ITV show This Morning that it was only when she filmed the BBC documentary that she discovered her mother had a premature menopause.

She said of her mother’s revelation: “She told me that and I was quite shocked. I thought ‘gosh I’ve got six years’. And I’ve always known I wanted a family.”

Asked about why her mother had not told her sooner, Jones said: “She probably thought she doesn’t need to know that until she thinks about it, if she thinks about it (getting pregnant). But it was quite a shock.”

The One Show host added: “I was, like many people, quite naive. Of course you know that age impacts your fertility but you don’t really realise to what extent until you start looking into it.”

Alex Jones (Ian West/PA)

She added: “Nobody leaves it late on purpose…It’s all a case of timing. Family was the number one priority. I didn’t meet my husband until a bit later on… I thought it will be fine.”

But she added: “Faced with what mum said and with tests … it was quite stressful.”

She told the TV show: “I still was in my early 30s saying ‘I can’t get pregnant’ and then one day you suddenly go, ‘gosh I really want children’.”