Not so squeaky clean now! TV presenter Alex Jones admits she once took part in a Welsh nationalist protest where eggs were hurled at the QUEEN

• e-mail

Welsh TV presenter Alex Jones has admitted she once took part in a student protest where eggs were hurled at the Queen.

But at the time, the region was a hot bed of Welsh nationalism.

Recalling the incident, Alex, 39, said: 'That first year of uni was when I was first exposed to politics.

Scroll down for video

Alex Jones has said she once took part in a Welsh nationalist protest in Aberystwyth

'I remember the Queen and Prince Philip coming on one of their tours and there was a lot of talk in the halls of residence the night before about how people were going to disrupt the visit.

'You heard things that were quite extreme but you didn't really think it was going to happen.

'However, on the morning, all the people from my halls lined the street and as the car drove past were just pelting it with eggs.

'It was a Welsh nationalist thing and they didn't want the Queen to be at Aberystwyth, so these eggs were thrown.

'It was really hard because at the time I was trying to make friends and integrate but I was always felt really uncomfortable about that.

'It's not because I'm a royalist, even though in recent years I've met the Queen and think she's a wonderful role model.

The One Show presenter was interviewed for new BBC documentary A Nation for All: Wales in the 90s

Alex says she has met the Queen in recent years and thinks of her as 'a wonderful role model'

'I always remember feeling awkward about it and really removed from it. I didn't agree with it at all and I wondered at that point if I was going to fit in because I didn't share those ideals.'

Speaking in a new BBC documentary, A Nation for All: Wales in the 90s, Alex also revealed secrets about her early career as a TV runner before she became a presenter.

Describing the time as a 'disaster', she explained how she once lost Julian Lloyd Webber's phenomenally expensive cello.

She said: 'After university, I was a runner on various TV shows, where I was effectively a dogsbody in charge of looking after guests.

'This one day, I was outside chatting to the parking attendant and Julian Lloyd Webber was there with his cello and he said, "Excuse me, would you mind watching my cello while I go off and make a phone call?".

'So I said, "Not a problem, Julian, you go off and leave your Stradivarius with me, it's in safe hands".

'I got chatting to the parking attendant, who was very good looking, then Julian comes back and he says, "where's the cello?"

'I look around horrified, and the cello's gone. I say, "Well, Julian, it can't be far".

'He just crumbled because this cello was worth a fortune.

'So panic started rising. I called my boss. Absolute disaster. I was feeling pretty sick.

'But, thankfully, after hours of searching, it turned out that someone had taken it in and put it under the stage because they thought no one was looking after it. It was absolutely fine.'

She also told of how she once 'lost' Julian Lloyd Webber's precious cello

On a different occasion while still working as a runner, Alex was tasked with taking the actor and original Phantom of the Opera star Michael Crawford to lunch.

Recalling the event, she said: 'He'd arrived too early, so the bosses asked me to take him to lunch.

'But I only had five pounds, so I said, "McDonalds alright with you?"

'So we sat in my Renault Clio eating a McDonalds. I don't think really it's what my bosses had in mind. I think that was the final nail in my coffin.'

After that incident, it was suggested to Alex that she do a screen test to see if she would be more suited to presenting work, which proved to be the case.

The star then built her career on the Welsh TV channel S4C, presenting mainly children's programmes in Welsh, before moving to The One Show in 2010.

Alex is currently on maternity leave following the birth of her baby boy in January

She credits the rise in her career down to the fact that she is bilingual, having attended Welsh schools while growing up in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire.

She said: 'When I tell people Welsh is my first language, they look at me like I have two heads, but it's always been the person I am and I am so grateful to S4C for letting me learn my craft.'

Now on maternity leave, the star, who is married to Charlie Thomson, an insurance broker from New Zealand, recently announced the birth of her baby boy – as yet unnamed – live on The One Show via a phone link.

She's also said she will 'definitely' speak Welsh to him.

She said: 'I have two hamsters, and my natural disposition is to speak Welsh to them. Bore da. Y chi'n okay? Good morning, you okay? My husband thinks I'm absolutely nuts but it's always going to be part of me.'

A Nation for All: Wales in the 90s (a four-part series) starts Monday February 27 at 10.40pm on BBC1 Wales. It will also be available on BBC iplayer.