DJ Greg James alarmed at prospect of early starts

GREG JAMES says he feels like the new Doctor Who after finally bagging Radio 1’s coveted Breakfast Show gig.

The cheeky chappy begins his early starts next week after replacing Nick Grimshaw, and says he doesn’t give ‘a s***’ about audience figures — because he’s more worried about sleeping through his early morning alarm call.

In an exclusive catch-up with Guilty Pleasures, Greg, who freely admits he is ‘not a morning person’, said of his new role: ‘It’s like being Doctor Who.

‘It’s one of those jobs you feel lucky to be able to put your stamp on. You want to put your mark on it.

‘It’s the show that people remember… the breakfast presenters and the eras.

‘There have only ever been 15 breakfast show hosts. I am the 16th. I feel pretty privileged to be on that list.’

While predecessor Grimmy was famously pally with the likes of Harry Styles and Rita Ora, Greg, 32, vows his show will be the ‘people’s show’ and ‘far less celeby’.

‘Me and Grimmy are very different,’ he said. ‘Our shows are very different. I don’t have a lot of celeb friends. I lean towards being nonsensical and silly… and getting the listeners properly involved.

‘I’m not snobby about the music I listen to, watch, or read. It (the breakfast show) should be a celebration of pop culture. It should be a big silly thing to listen to before you go to school or work.’

Former X Factor judge Grimshaw, 33, lost 1.5million listeners during his near six-year run on the show.

But that doesn’t concern Greg. ‘That s*** doesn’t bother me anymore,’ he said. ‘People will write stuff but (I want) the show to be well-loved by the listeners.’

He admitted he was far more stressed about his early starts.

‘I missed an entire show once,’ he said. ‘I was doing the early breakfast show and slept throughout the whole thing. That is one of my big fears. I love sleeping. If that alarm fails or my iPhone starts to update during the night and my alarm switches off, I’m f***ed.’

And he vowed he will no longer ‘get wasted’ the night before a show, adding: ‘I’m quite lucky to have this job and it would be a bit of p***-take to people who pay my wages to be wasted every single night.’

The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James starts on Monday.

Author: Andrei Harmsworth