Greg James facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Greg James
Greg James in 2022
Born	Gregory James Alan Milward (1985-12-17) 17 December 1985 (age 39) Lewisham, London, England
Education	University of East Anglia
Occupation	Author broadcaster presenter
Employer	BBC
Spouse(s)	Bella Mackie ​ (m. 2018)​

Greg James (born 17 December 1985) is a well-known English radio and TV presenter, and also an author. He has worked at BBC Radio 1 since 2007, where he now hosts the famous Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

Greg also co-hosts a cricket podcast called Tailenders with England cricketer James Anderson. He is also a children's author, best known for the Kid Normal book series, which he writes with Chris Smith.

Early Life and School Days

Greg James was born in Lewisham, London, on 17 December 1985. His parents, Alan and Rosemary, were both teachers. He has one sister named Catherine. When he was a baby, he needed three life-saving blood transfusions.

Greg loved cricket and even played for Hertfordshire Under-18s. When he was 14, he tried broadcasting on a hospital radio station. Later, he found out the transmitter was broken, so no one actually heard his shows!

He went to The Bishop's Stortford High School and was even the deputy head boy. After school, he studied drama at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.

Greg's Radio Journey

While at university, Greg presented shows on the student radio station, Livewire 1350AM. He even became the station manager in 2006, though he later said he didn't really enjoy that job. He also worked on other local radio stations before getting his big break at BBC Radio 1. In 2005, he won an award for 'Best Male Presenter' at the Student Radio Awards.

Greg joined BBC Radio 1 in June 2007, right after graduating from university. He started by presenting the Early Breakfast show on Fridays. Soon after, in October 2007, he got his own Early Breakfast show five days a week.

In 2009, Greg moved to an afternoon slot, from 1 pm to 4 pm. He also hosted 'The Official Chart Update' for a few years, which shared news about the latest music charts.

Greg also co-hosts the Tailenders cricket podcast, which started in 2017. It's a fun show about cricket with Jimmy Anderson and Felix White. Since 2019, he has also presented Rewinder on BBC Radio 4, where he explores old BBC recordings. In 2023, he launched a Formula 1 podcast called 'The Fast And The Curious'.

Drivetime Show Fun

In 2012, Greg started hosting the Drivetime show on Radio 1, which was on from 4 pm to 7 pm. This show had many popular parts, like "The 10 Minute Takeover" where listeners got to choose the music, "Impossible Karaoke," and "Ask The Nation."

One funny moment was in 2017 when Greg asked listeners to name a tractor for Dorset Police. He picked the name "RoboCrop" from thousands of ideas! The police used the tractor to teach people about rural crime.

Hosting the Radio 1 Breakfast Show

On 20 August 2018, Greg James took over the famous Radio 1 Breakfast Show from Nick Grimshaw. This was a big change, and Greg said it would be a "big challenge" but he was ready for it. His first guest on the show was Wallace the Lion from Blackpool Zoo!

The show was first on four days a week, but since December 2020, Greg's Breakfast Show is on five days a week.

Greg on TV

Greg James has also presented many TV shows. In 2009, he hosted a show for BBC Three called Young, Jobless and Living at Home. He also hosted the winners' podium backstage at the 2009 BRIT Awards in 2009 and 2010.

He had a small, non-speaking role in the Doctor Who episode "Closing Time" in 2011.

Greg has often presented the BBC's coverage of big music festivals like Glastonbury Festival, Reading and Leeds Festival, and Radio 1's Big Weekend. He's been doing this since 2011, often with other presenters like Fearne Cotton and Alice Levine.

In 2012, Greg co-presented a show called Unzipped on BBC Three. He also hosted How to Win Eurovision in 2013. In 2013, he and Russell Kane had their own chat show called Staying in with Greg and Russell. Greg also won a Lip Sync Challenge during the Children in Need 2013 appeal night, performing "Circle of Life" from The Lion King.

In 2014, Greg appeared on the CBeebies game show Swashbuckle with his niece Pia. He also hosted the closing ceremony of The Invictus Games with Clare Balding in 2014. In 2015, he presented the reality game show I Survived a Zombie Apocalypse.

Greg has also guest presented several episodes of The One Show and co-presented the Children in Need appeal for the first time in 2016. From 2017 to 2018, he co-presented the music show Sounds Like Friday Night on BBC One.

In 2022, Greg was an executive producer for a Sky documentary series called The Man Who Bought Cricket. In March 2023, he became the host of a new Channel 4 reality show called Rise and Fall. He also appeared as himself in an episode of the BBC One comedy Queen of Oz in 2023.

Kid Normal Book Series

Greg James, along with newsreader Chris Smith, wrote a popular children's book series called Kid Normal. It's a six-book series about a regular boy living in a world full of superheroes.

The first book came out in July 2017 and was a huge success, becoming the biggest-selling children's debut of the year. The books have sold over 100,000 copies and have been translated into 19 other languages around the world.

Greg James and Chris Smith at a book festival in 2022

Helping Others: Charity Work

Greg is very involved in charity work. In 2013, he took part in 'Comic Relief: Through Hell and High Water', journeying along the Zambezi River for five days. They raised over £1 million to build a new school. He also appeared as a judge on Let's Dance for Comic Relief.

In 2014, Greg was part of 'Team Coe' in the 'Sport Relief: Clash of the Titans' event, where his team won. In 2015, he traveled to Uganda with other presenters for 'Operation Health' to help rebuild a health centre, raising £551,405.

In February 2016, for Sport Relief, Greg took on a huge challenge called the 'Gregathlon'. He completed five triathlons in five days, in five different cities across the UK, raising £1 million for charity. He did another 'Gregathlon' in 2018, cycling over 500 miles and climbing mountains, raising over £1 million again.

Personal Life

On 1 June 2018, Greg James announced he was engaged to his girlfriend, Bella Mackie. They got married in September of the same year. They live in Kentish Town, North London.

Greg is the godfather to Ruby, the youngest daughter of England cricketer James Anderson. He is a big fan of cricket and also supports Bath Rugby and Arsenal football club.

He is an ambassador for two charities: The Stroke Association and The Lord's Taverners. He also helped with the NHS Team Give Blood campaign in 2012.

Awards and Recognition

Greg James has won many awards for his radio work:

• 2005 – Student Radio Award for 'Best Male Presenter'
• 2013 – 'Loaded Lafta' for 'Funniest Radio Show'
• 2013 – Silver Sony Radio Academy Award for 'Best Entertainment Show'
• 2014 – Gold Radio Academy Award for 'Best Entertainment Show'
• 2016 – Gold Radio Academy 'ARIA' Award for 'Best Entertainment Production'
• 2020 – Arias Award for 'Best New Show'
• 2020 – Arias Award for 'Best marketing campaign'
• 2020 – TRIC awards for "Radio Personality"

TV and Radio Appearances

Television Shows

Acting Roles

Radio Shows

Images for kids

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  The Dorset Police tractor 'Robocrop', named by Greg James