BBC Breakfast fans will recognise host Charlie Stayt as a familiar face, appearing next to his on-screen partner Naga Munchetty as they bring the latest headlines.
In recent times, following the departure of Dan Walker, Charlie stepped up to become a firm fixture on the show from Thursday to Saturday, alongside Naga.
Naga and Charlie soon became fan-favourites, with the humersome pair often involved in on-air banter alongside weather expert Carol Kirkwood, with the trio regularly erupting into giggles on-air.
Although the TV star only struck up a permanent day time role on the iconic red sofa three years ago, he’s actually been in the industry for decades having first kick started his TV career back in 1995.
While we know lots about on-screen Charlie we know very little about his homelife, until he was flung into the spotlight recently after financial matters surfaced.
Career
Charlie is best known for his hosting role on BBC Breakfast, but many will not know that he originally had his heart set on a career in radio but by chance found himself navigating towards being in front of the camera instead.
The 62-year-old broadcaster was born in Gloucester and attended King’s School, later going on to advance his studies at Birmingham Polytechnic.
He started out his career on the radio within his hometown before branching out to London to host Capital Radio’s news show, The Way It Is,
Charlie then went on to work for the likes of LBC and BB Radio 5 Live before he finally took the plunge and ventured into high-rating territory on the BBC Breakfast.
In a previous interview with the RadioTimes, Charlie addressed coping mechanisms for setting an early morning alarm. He explained: “I refuse to snooze. As soon as the alarm goes off, I am up.
“The other thing is, I embrace the siesta. It’s become a big thing for me. I sort of sit down in the afternoon and consciously do nothing. No snooze and have a siesta, that’s the formula.”
Wife Annie Breckell
Charlie is married to Anne Breckell and the pair tend to keep a lid on private affairs as much as possible. However, last year the married-couple were flung into the spotlight over a financial matters with HMRC.
While not much is known about Anne, we do know that she and Charlie welcomed two children together, Phoebe Senara, who was born in 1997 and Jake Hamilton, in 2000.
After issues with HMRC emerged last year, The Sun reported that Anne had also been very successful in her own career as a manager at a global corporation.
Home life
It is understood that Anne and Charlie purchased their home in Twickenham in 2002 for £800,000 but with house prices surging over the past few decades, it’s understood their pad is now worth a whopping £2.3million.
The couple have been married for more 20 years and while their children are all grown up now, it is believed that both Phoebe and Jake still live at home with their parents, reports Hello! magazine.
Although Charlie has a role in the public eye, he tends to avoid sharing even a glimpse of his homelife with fans, avoiding social media channels such as Instagram and Twitter, like many of his co-stars.
Despite his off-screen life being kept well under wraps it has been widely reported that Charlie and Anne were an item, long before he found fame.
Bankruptcy
Last year, Charlie and Anne’s company found themselves at the centre of a legal battle with HMRC. Stayt Limited which lists both of the married pair as directors, was summoned to court to settle a huge tax bill or face bankruptcy.
It is understood that the nature of the firm’s business is television and broadcast, with the company being threatened with bankruptcy if they didn’t make a payment to HM Revenue & Customs.
According to the Mail, Charlie and his wife Anne agreed to settle a tax bill of around £190,000 with more than £32,000 still outstanding and to be owed to the tax office.
HMRC originally filed a bankruptcy petition against the couple, but after they’d agreed to pay a large bulk of the outstanding fee, tax officials asked to withdraw at the hearing at the specialist Insolvency and Companies Court in London.
Solicitor Anam Rezvi said at the time: “HMRC would like to seek permission to withdraw today, as the balance has now been reduced and the remaining balance has agreed to be paid by the debtors.”
Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Sebastian Prentis agreed to the petition being withdrawn at the end of the short hearing. Charlie and Annie did not attend.
BBC Breakfast airs every day on BBC One, from 6am.