Charlotte Jackson: From Sky Sports Fame to a New Acting Career
The story of a British television presenter who built a successful sports broadcasting career, married football manager Chris Coleman, and later followed her dream of becoming an actress.
Introduction
Charlotte Jackson is a British television presenter, journalist and actress. She became famous through Sky Sports News, where she covered football and major sporting events.
But her career didn’t stop there.
After years of working in television, she decided to try something different. Acting had always interested her. She returned to professional training and began working in films.
Today, she is also known professionally as Charlotte Jackson Coleman.
Her story includes sports broadcasting, television appearances, family life and a career change that brought her back into the spotlight.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Charlotte Louise Jackson |
| Professional Name | Charlotte Jackson Coleman |
| Date of Birth | 29 June 1978 |
| Age | 48 years (October 2026) |
| Birthplace | Portsmouth, Hampshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Profession | Television presenter, journalist and actress |
| Famous For | Sky Sports News |
| Former Broadcasters | Sky Sports, Setanta Sports News |
| Husband | Chris Coleman |
| Marriage Year | 2015 |
| Children | Two with Chris Coleman |
| Height | Approximately 5 ft 6 in, according to IMDb |
| Favourite Football Club | Liverpool FC |
| Acting Training | Completed in 2021 |
| Notable Film | Secrets (2025) |
Growing Up in Hampshire
Charlotte was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, on 29 June 1978.
She spent part of her childhood in Wickham, a village near Portsmouth.
Sport was a familiar part of her early life. Biographical accounts describe her interest in lacrosse and tennis, with both sports becoming important activities during her younger years.
Her family also had links to Liverpool.
That connection helped build her support for Liverpool Football Club, a team she continued following as an adult.
She enjoyed taking part in sports. Her interests weren’t limited to watching matches on television.
Golf and tennis later became regular activities alongside her presenting work.
What About Her Parents?
There is limited confirmed information about her parents.
Public biographical accounts mention that her mother played lacrosse for England. However, dependable public sources do not establish her parents’ full names or detailed occupations.
She has generally kept that part of her life away from public attention.
Education and Early Career Plans
Her route into television wasn’t straightforward.
Before building her broadcasting career, she studied journalism.
A Sky Sports profile confirms that she completed a journalism course.
In later interviews, she also discussed growing up in an academically focused environment and having an early interest in acting.
Still, television presenting became her first major professional success.
Her exact school and early journalism-training institution are not confirmed in the available reliable sources.
One thing is clear. She developed the skills needed for live television and gradually found opportunities in sports media.
How Her Broadcasting Career Started
Her professional journey began with sports reporting.
In 2004, she wrote and presented sports news for several websites.
These included TEAMtalk, Football365, Golf365 and Sportal.
The work helped her gain experience with sports stories and presenting news.
She covered football developments, produced reports and worked on sports bulletins.
Then came another opportunity.
In 2006, she covered the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival for its official website.
This gave her more experience reporting on a major sporting event.
Her early work may not have brought widespread fame, but it helped her move towards national television.
The Move to Setanta Sports News
A bigger opportunity arrived in 2007.
She joined Setanta Sports News, where she became a familiar face to sports viewers.
She co-hosted Lunchtime Live alongside Murray Dron.
The programme covered sports news and gave her more experience presenting live broadcasts.
Her responsibilities grew.
She worked on sports specials and international coverage, including reporting connected with the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
The experience gave her access to bigger events and a wider television audience.
However, Setanta Sports News stopped broadcasting in June 2009.
That created a new challenge.
Instead of ending her presenting career, she moved to another major broadcaster.
Becoming a Familiar Face on Sky Sports News
August 2009 brought a major career move.
She joined Sky Sports News.
For many sports viewers, this was where she became widely recognised.
Her work included presenting sports updates, covering football stories and appearing on programmes connected with major competitions.
By September 2010, Sky Sports described her as a lead presenter of its afternoon news coverage.
She also presented content linked to the UEFA Champions League.
Live broadcasting demanded quick thinking. Stories could change while a programme was on air, and presenters needed to explain updates clearly.
She became experienced in that environment.
Football Quiz and International Coverage
Her broadcasting work reached beyond the news desk.
She co-presented Take It Like a Fan with John Fendley.
The football quiz programme visited football grounds and involved supporters in questions about the sport.
She also presented ITV’s Champions League Weekly and worked on beach soccer coverage.
Another memorable assignment was the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year Awards ceremony in Zurich.
She hosted the event alongside Pedro Pinto.
Her career now included studio presenting, interviews and major international events.
Television Shows Beyond Sports News
She also appeared on entertainment television.
One notable programme was ITV’s 71 Degrees North.
She co-presented the second series alongside Paddy McGuinness.
The programme followed celebrities taking part in demanding challenges in cold conditions.
It was different from her regular sports-news work.
She also appeared on The Big Quiz: Sports Special.
Then, in 2013, she competed in ITV’s celebrity diving programme Splash!
She reached the semi-finals despite suffering a broken toe.
The experience showed viewers another side of her personality.
She was prepared to try difficult physical challenges, even when they were far outside her usual television work.
Marriage to Football Manager Chris Coleman
Her personal life also attracted public interest.
She married Chris Coleman, the former professional footballer and football manager.
Coleman is known for managing the Wales national football team, as well as clubs including Fulham and Sunderland.
The couple married on 16 May 2015.
Their marriage came during an important period in Coleman’s football career.
At the time, he was managing Wales and preparing the national team for major international competitions.
Charlotte already understood the demands of professional sport through her broadcasting career.
The couple have also spoken publicly about managing family responsibilities alongside football and television work.
Their Children and Family Life
The couple have two children together.
Their son, Finlay, was born on 22 December 2014.
Their daughter was born in August 2016.
Coleman also has children from his previous marriage.
Charlotte has discussed the practical challenges of raising children while her husband’s football career involved moves between different countries.
Family life later influenced her decision to return to acting.
Once her children started school, she felt ready to give that ambition serious attention.
Why She Decided to Become an Actress
A successful television career doesn’t mean every ambition has been completed.
For Charlotte, acting remained an important personal goal.
She had been interested in performance for years, but sports presenting became the main focus of her professional life.
That began to change.
In an interview published in October 2025, she explained that she wanted to pursue acting properly rather than always wondering what might have happened.
So she enrolled in formal acting training.
She completed her course in 2021 as a mature student.
It was a big change.
She already knew how to perform in front of television cameras, but acting required different skills.
She had to learn how to build fictional characters, work with scripts and prepare for demanding emotional scenes.
Her professional acting profile also lists training in screen combat and motion capture.
She was starting a different chapter of her career.
Her Role in the Film Secrets
One of her best-documented acting projects is the psychological thriller Secrets.
The film was released in 2025.
She plays Sammy, a single mother dealing with a difficult past and the murder of her own mother.
The story follows Sammy as she confronts disturbing events connected with her family history.
The role required serious emotional preparation.
In interviews published during 2025, Charlotte explained that she spent time building her character’s background before filming.
She also used music and character notes to prepare for difficult scenes.
The film was directed by Chris Norton.
It gave her a leading feature-film role and introduced her to audiences who might previously have known her mainly from sports television.
Other Acting Projects
Her professional credits also include work associated with BBC One’s Silent Witness.
Her acting portfolio lists projects such as Dear Departed, Dancing Queen and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare.
Her professional name in acting credits is commonly Charlotte Jackson Coleman.
The move into acting has allowed her to work in a different part of the entertainment industry.
She has spoken positively about making this career change later in life.
Charity Work and Public Appearances
Charity work has also featured in her career.
She has supported the children’s charity Barnardo’s.
Sky Sports previously identified her as an ambassador for the organisation.
She has also hosted charity events and taken part in fundraising activities.
Her professional speaker profile describes her involvement in a celebrity edition of The Chase, where she won £25,000 for Barnardo’s.
She has presented corporate events and sporting occasions as well.
Golf has remained a familiar part of those activities.
Her experience as a television presenter made event hosting another area where she could use her broadcasting skills.
Her Interests Outside Television
Sport remains one of her main interests.
She has publicly discussed her enjoyment of golf and tennis.
She also supports Liverpool FC.
Her earlier background includes singing and performing, which connects with her later interest in acting.
In interviews, she has spoken about family responsibilities and the importance of making time for professional goals.
Her interests have changed over the years, but sport and performance have remained familiar parts of her life.
What Happened During the Sky Sports Controversy?
In January 2011, footage emerged of Sky Sports pundit Andy Gray making an inappropriate remark towards Charlotte during an earlier off-air exchange.
The incident received considerable media attention.
Sky subsequently terminated Gray’s contract amid wider concerns about his behaviour.
Charlotte was the recipient of the remark, not the person responsible for the misconduct.
The incident remains part of the public reporting around her broadcasting career, though her professional achievements extend far beyond it.
What Is She Doing in 2026?
Her later career has focused on acting.
The release of Secrets in 2025 brought fresh attention to her work as a performer.
She also discussed the film and her career change in interviews that year.
Her acting credits and professional profiles show that she has moved beyond her former role as a Sky Sports News presenter.
However, a permanent current television contract or a complete schedule of upcoming films has not been publicly confirmed through the sources reviewed.
For now, her documented career includes both sports broadcasting and acting.
Career Timeline
| Year | Career Event |
|---|---|
| 1978 | Born in Portsmouth, England |
| 2004 | Worked on sports news websites |
| 2006 | Covered the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival |
| 2007 | Joined Setanta Sports News |
| 2008 | Worked on Beijing Olympics coverage |
| 2009 | Joined Sky Sports News |
| 2009 | Co-hosted FIFA World Player of the Year Awards |
| 2010 | Recognised as a lead Sky Sports News presenter |
| 2013 | Competed in Splash! |
| 2015 | Married Chris Coleman |
| 2016 | Welcomed her daughter |
| 2021 | Completed professional acting training |
| 2025 | Played Sammy in the film Secrets |
Final Thought
Charlotte Jackson built her name in British sports television.
She worked her way from sports websites to major broadcasting jobs and became familiar to Sky Sports viewers.
Then she made another choice.
Instead of staying with what she already knew, she returned to an ambition she had carried for years.
Acting gave her something new to work towards.
Her story shows that a career can change direction, even after years of success in another profession.
For viewers who remember her from Sky Sports News, her later film work marks an interesting new chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Charlotte Jackson?
She is a British television presenter, journalist and actress. She is best known for her former role on Sky Sports News.
2. How old is she?
She was born on 29 June 1978. She is 48 years old as of October 2026.
3. Who is her husband?
She is married to Chris Coleman, the former Wales national football team manager. They married in May 2015.
4. Does she have children?
Yes. She and Chris Coleman have two children together, a son and a daughter.
5. Why did she leave sports presenting?
She later chose to pursue acting, a long-standing interest. Public sources do not establish one single confirmed reason for her departure from Sky Sports News.
6. What films has she appeared in?
Her acting credits include Secrets, in which she played Sammy. Her professional portfolio also lists several other film projects.
7. How tall is she?
IMDb lists her height as approximately 5 feet 6 inches, or 1.68 metres.
8. What is her net worth?
There is no reliable, publicly verified figure for her personal net worth. Any exact amount would be speculative.
