In 2008, he joined Charlton Athletic following the expiration of his contract where he was later appointed captain of the side but suffered relegation to League One during his only season at the club.

He helped the side reach the play-offs in his first three seasons, suffering defeat each time, before they won promotion to the Premier League by winning the Championship in 2013.

He again took over the captaincy soon after his arrival and made over 100 appearances for the club during a three-year spell, helping them win promotion to the Premier League in his final season.

Hudson was most recently manager of Cardiff City in what was first permanent managerial position having been promoted from first-team coach following an impressive interim period.

[6] In December 2001, Hudson spent two days on trial with Grimsby Town in preparation for a possible loan move, however, the transfer was not completed.

[24] He made 14 appearances for the side during his loan spell as Palace went on to defeat West Ham United in the play-off final to win promotion to the Premiership.

[36] However, Hudson remained out of the first team, as he was demoted to either the substitute bench or reserve side due to competition over the centre–back position between himself, Fitz Hall, Darren Ward, Emmerson Boyce and Tony Popovic.

[44] In a match against Sheffield United on 22 September 2007, he scored an own goal following a left-wing cross from Keith Gillespie, which Crystal Palace went on to win 3–2.

[47] Under new manager Neil Warnock, Hudson scored his second goal of the season in a 2–0 win over Bristol City to start a 15 match unbeaten run that lasted until 28 January 2008.

[61] Hudson's experience as captain at Palace earned him the same role at Charlton and he went on to make 45 appearances in all competitions for the club as they suffered relegation to League One, finishing bottom of the division.

[64] On 2 July 2009, Hudson signed for Championship side Cardiff City for a fee of £1.075m with an extra £250,000 possible if the Bluebirds reached the Premier League.

[65] An ongoing contract dispute with midfielder Joe Ledley led manager Dave Jones to hand the captaincy to Hudson at the start of the season, Cardiff becoming the third successive club at which he had been appointed captain.

[69] He made his two-hundredth career league appearance on Boxing Day against Plymouth Argyle and added his second goal of the season on 9 January 2010 against Blackpool.

[70] However, his season was dealt a blow when he was ruled out for up to two months after being forced to undergo surgery on a split ankle tendon at the end of January.

[71] After three months on the sidelines, he made his return for the first team, coming on as a second-half replacement for Darcy Blake, in a 3–2 win over Sheffield Wednesday on 24 April 2010.

[80] Under new manager Malky Mackay, Hudson regained the captaincy for the 2011–12 season following the end of Bellamy's loan deal and led the team to a 1–0 win over West Ham United in the opening match.

[86] He suffered an ankle injury in January 2012, but returned to captain the side in its first ever League Cup final against Liverpool, in which the Bluebirds were beaten 3–2 on penalties.

[88] After helping the side qualify for the play–offs, Hudson played both legs against West Ham United, which saw Cardiff City lose 5–0 on aggregate, ending their season and their hopes of reaching to the Premier League.

[106] Despite expecting to lead the side in the Premier League,[107] Hudson, however, spent the start of the season on the substitute bench, due to Mackay's preference of Steven Caulker and Turner in the centre–back position.

[109] Under Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Mackay's successor, he played his first Premier League match since 2005 in a 2–0 loss against West Ham United on 11 January 2014.

[110] He made a second Premier League appearance in a 2–0 loss against Manchester United on 28 January 2014,[111] but suffered a hamstring injury and was ruled out for the rest of the season.

[113] He managed to recover from a hamstring injury, in time for the opening game of the season against Blackburn Rovers, in which he set up Cardiff's goal in a 1–1 draw.

[118] As the August 2014 transfer window shut, Hudson moved from Cardiff to fellow Championship side Huddersfield Town for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal.

[128] Amid the transfer speculation, he started the first five matches of the season before suffering an ankle injury during a 1–0 loss against Queens Park Rangers on 29 August 2015.

[129] He made his return from injury on 17 October 2015, in a 0–0 draw against Ipswich Town,[130] maintaining his first team place for the rest of the season following the appointment of Powell's successor, David Wagner.

[132] After serving a two match ban for accumulating 10 yellow cards during the season,[133] Hudson returned from suspension during a 2–0 win over Nottingham Forest on 13 February 2016.

[140] Hudson was part of the squad that saw Huddersfield side promoted to the Premier League after beating Reading 5–4 in penalty shoot–out after a 0–0 in the EFL Championship play-off final.

[citation needed] On 12 November 2021, Hudson re-joined his former club Cardiff City, taking the role of first team coach.

[151] While at Cardiff City, Hudson supported for the 'Kick Racism out of Football' campaign in the wake of Michael Chopra's race row.

[153] By the time he departed Cardiff City, media outlet Wales Online described Hudson as "resolutely old-fashioned, a family man.