613 - GREG JAMES - Viral David Attenborough Moment, Chuckle Brothers Obsession, & The WORST Celebrities He’s Ever Interviewed

26:53Yeah, and it's not just in the studio. I mean, we both like running. What, you do? I've never heard you mention it. Yeah, I mean, every now and then, but I find if I don't get enough sleep, I run almost as slow as Robbie Knox. Whoa, that is slow. Yeah, I find I'm way less motivated to actually get out and run if I've had a bad night's sleep. And that's why my Apple Watch has been helping. Sleep quality is influenced by factors such as sleep duration, bedtime consistency, how often you wake up, and time spent in each sleep stage. But Apple Watch Series 11 has sleep score. It analyses these factors every night and provides a classification and a score.

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28:17Sweetgreen's fall harvest menu is back with seasonal favorites dressed to impress and made to be devoured. Warm roasted sweet potatoes, crisp apples, maple glazed Brussels, and crave worthy flavors in the autumn harvest bowl, maple glazed salmon plate, and roasted bacon Brussels side. The season's most desirable menu has returned to Sweetgreen, featuring fall's best dressed. Make your move, order on the Sweetgreen app. so you went to UEA our neck of the woods yeah and you were was it the drama I did drama I started doing English and drama and then I dropped the English in the third year because Radio 1 was sort of bubbling sniffing around but you was it the first day you were at the uni that you discovered the radio lot right was that right I did the first day yeah first day so I'd always had an interest in radio and I knew that there was a student radio station but I didn't really I didn't think oh that could be my entire life.

29:15That's going to be my thing. Had you never considered it as a career before you got to uni then? I had, but I just didn't know how that would happen. I didn't know really how you would ever just suddenly go, I'm going to do that. And now I'm doing it. Right. They're weird jobs to do. That's a great question. Cause I didn't, I don't really know if I had, there was no particular plan, but I just thought, oh, I'd love to do that as a job. Yeah. It was part of me that was thinking, maybe I'll go and do acting. Maybe I'm going to drama school. Maybe I did something that was, maybe it was stand up. Maybe it was in a comedy.

29:46It was writing comedy. It was all those sorts of things were whirring around my head. And then this guy called Dave, Big Dave, was a third year at the time. And he was handing out flyers to the Freshers Fair and was like, Well, you come upstairs. We've got a student radio station. It's called Livewire. And that was it. He took me up there. And I just, that was it. I never left. And I met some blokes there, a guy called Simon, a bloke called Francis, who was there in the third year at that time. And immediately welcomed me in. and they knew that I was so obviously clearly semi-erect at this idea that I was in a radio station.

30:18I was like, this is amazing. Show me the faders. What's all this? What's your compression like? What's going on here? Do you even have a passion for the technicals? Do you? Yeah, I think with radio in particular, you have to be really nerdy about all the details, what the mic. I mean, I've already checked out these mics. They're industry standard. Are they doing anything for industry standard? They're great. No, they're really good. These are really good. But I loved all that stuff, And I loved making all the jingles and all the music you talk over, the beds, as we call them in the trade. And just how things sounded.

30:49That's what I fell in love with when I was a kid. It was like this thing, which is just floating through the air radio, is being made by somebody and it sounds massive. But essentially you're in a little room. Yeah. And this community is built from just people talking, playing a clip, playing some music. And I've always found that amazing. and then and then I just sort of fell in love with the making of it while I was doing hospital radio when I was a kid so I'd sneak off and not tell my mates that I was going to go and help out the old guys at Radio Stortford finding the cds away and stuff and then went to university and it sort of legitimized it because there were other people my age going yeah I like radio as well um yeah we're all just like a bunch of really like really nerdy virgins yeah just hanging around that was going to be one of my questions you describe the people that you met that first day at uni as your people I was going to say what do you mean by your your people but you just wonderful passionate nerds who just knew I was sort of amazed I guess that they were they were confident in who they were right and that helped me go that's what that's what I'm like as well and that was a real and then really nice moments when you meet those people and you're like I can just be myself with you and I can just talk about old jingles from capital back in the day or like So even that first day at the UEA, when you're meeting those people the first time, you already had a pre-existing favourite jingle?

32:08Of course. I was on radio forums throughout all my teenage years. So you definitely did have a passion. Immediately. Yeah, it was when I started listening to Virgin Radio, ironically. And it would have been the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin. but also there's a couple of guys called Russ and Jono who used to do a show in the mid, mid nineties. And I was like a kid then. And my mum would listen to it. We listened to it on the way to school. What was their show called? It was the Russ and Jono show.

32:40Yeah. I mean, you know, and I liked, I just liked how it sounded and I was always really into jingles and talking up to the vocal. And that's obviously where my love of music came from because it just goes hand in hand. And when you're a student, you're sort of forming what stuff you love. I went to university sort of 2005, 2006, which was when it was just massive indie. It was Arctic Monkeys. It was Block Party, Maximo Park, Kings of Leon, Future Heads, all those amazing bands that were coming up then. And it was just after the Strokes had just had that big moment as well. So it was a really amazing time to sort of be an indie kid and also love radio and going to live gigs and stuff.

33:22So all of that just coalesced into this, oh yeah, this is who I am at the moment. And I love this. And I'm just going to shout about how much I love. It's everything you like, like meshed into one. But yeah, I used to listen to old jingles on radio forums. What are we talking then? What's a good old jingle? Well, all the Chris Moyles imaging from about 2002 onwards was really, really good. And there was a website that, I think it's still going. It's called chrismoyles.net. and it used to have all the clips of his show. Oh, you can probably get it out there. It used to get all the clips of his show.

33:56So I fell in love with Radio 1 through Moyles in the afternoons. Oh, wow. Is it still going? I've not looked at that for a while. Wow. I say a while. I mean, I haven't looked at that for about 20 years. Is it still? Is there a thing on there? I've never talked about this ever. This is good. This is good catharsis. There was a bit on the website, which I don't know if it's still there, called B. Moyles, right? where this community of amazing radio anoraks who I respect greatly put together all his jingles and stuff and his clips and you could fire them off on your computer and pretend to do a show using his stuff.

34:34Right. So that was what I was doing when everyone else was going out and getting off with girls. Jingles are here. Jingles and beds. Jingles and beds. Oh, still got ads. Someone's still earning from this. As they should. Yeah. There's loads. There's apps. It's 359. It's being updated though, isn't it? 2022. 2022, yeah, still. Someone's doing this. Is there a gregjames.net? That's what I want to know. There's not. I don't think there's a gregjames.net. But you can find, but there's anarchy radio forums that will have loads of old stuff from my old shows and Scott Mills' stuff and all the old Radio 1 archive.

35:06That's when you get to Radio 1 and you realise just how passionate people are about that station because it's been going for so long. It's been going for nearly 60 years. There's so much history there and I think that's partly what I've loved. I was like, this collection of people and this radio station is sort of, it's like everyone's got their Radio 1 lineup. And it's been very cool to be part of it and to be on someone's lineup. How long have you been doing it for now at Radio 1? So I got my job in 2007. So that's straight from uni? Straight from uni. Which is mad. Shit. Yeah, it happened very, very quickly.

35:37And it felt, it felt like a weird dream because I went to university 2004 and the lineup was Chris Moyles, Joe Wiley with the Live Lounge, Colin and Edith in the afternoon, Scott Mills in the afternoon and then Zane Lowe in the evening doing the hottest record in the world, all that stuff. Yeah. And then three years later, I was on that lineup. I was, I was on this thing that I'd listened to forever. Like these are my favorite people. and then this is going to sound like a Steve Bartlett question but did you have what's it called did you have imposter did you did you think did you know you were there by merit because you're obviously great at what you do how long did it take you to realize you were you were as good as these people that is a great question and I part of this part of doing looking back at everything I realized that I was closer to who I am now at 21 than I was sort of in my late 20s early thirties, I felt like I was so fearless because I didn't really know what was going on.

36:36I was like, oh my God, it happened. Somehow I managed to get onto this radio station that I really wanted to get onto. And so I was just like, this is great. I moved to London. I didn't know anything. I was so naive. I had an amazing producer who was just showing me the radio one ways. And I was just having so much fun. The callers were a laugh at four o 'clock in the morning. We could try stuff out. It was, it was live and it was quite dangerous. And there was people calling up swearing and all the rest of it. It was, it was amazing. And I just was, I was just, I was like a pig in shit really.

37:06And then when I got, sorry, Stevie, when I got to afternoons, when I, when I replaced Edith on the afternoons, I suddenly went, oh my God, there's a lot of scrutiny on me here. I'm not good enough yet. I need to get, I need to like get better quickly. You felt, I felt very quickly, like I'd just been chucked into the Champions League and I was still sort of, I was still like division one. I needed, I needed to like, oh my God, I need to get better quickly. How did that come about in the first place? Straight from uni? Is it something you applied for? Did they scout you out? There's an amazing thing called the Student Radio Awards, which is still going.

37:40And actually me and Jordan North are hosting it this year. It's still going strong. All the student radio stations submit demos and we submitted demos for Livewire. And one of them was for a, for a, for best male presenter. And I won that in 2005. And part of Was it like an audition thing or did they just take clips of what you'd already... You take it, you submit a demo of your stuff. And I won that award in 2005. And then part of the prize was to do an hour's show. So I just went away and went, I'm going to make this the best hour I can possibly ever do. So I just put together all this stuff, went to Radio 1 and the boss was like, okay, that's good.

38:20Well, let's keep chatting. And then you do have to get lucky with these things. I was sort of persistent and being like, do you like that? He's like, yeah, this is really good. So I, his advice was go back to university, do the final couple of years. If there's a chance of a demo or like a, you know, a pilot show that might come up, we'll let you know. And it just so happened that they needed someone cheaper than the guys they were getting rid of. And, um, I was coming back to buying them. But it's, but at that, at that time I was a 20, I was 21 and just really excited and sort of what they were looking for at that time.

38:56And I just got a chance. And my one aim was to go, I just want to do a year. Just stick around for a year. Just do whatever you can just to have a nice time. And I didn't really think much past that. And that is sort of how I feel now. But in the middle years, I was like, oh, my God, I've got to be famous. I've got to be a Radio 1 DJ. I've got to act, whatever that means. And I sort of lost a little bit of a sense of who I was. Do you feel like, because I think you're, what you're saying there is resonating with me because I think when we first started this podcast and we were just two mates fucking about and then the guests started getting bigger and bigger and then I think there's a period in the middle where I was trying to be super professional.

39:39So I was trying to like, I almost had like a radio voice. I was drinking a Huel. But I think you have to go, this is my big thing with getting older and growing up and realising all this and going through stuff. You just have to go through that. The only way of working out who you are is to sort of try stuff out and try it on for size and be like, am I that guy now? And you work it out and you go, actually, maybe not. That was, I don't like that. I'm back to the old, like what you're saying there, the 21 year old, Greg. You're back. It feels like you two are doing, you know, it feels like you're doing the thing that you feel like you want to get up and do.

40:15Yeah. You're doing it in your own way, aren't you? We also changed how we did it a lot because we get fairly instant feedback as well. So what's feedback like for you on live radio? Yeah, we have a Reddit page. Well, we get told when we're doing stuff. This episode now will be a thread on our Reddit page. Good. That's nice. They'll be lovely about you. But well, but those... He's pandering to the comments already. But even at Love Reddit, what a great bunch of people. But I'm on Reddit all the time. Yeah. That's how you find stuff. It's just, but that's, but that is, that's forums. That's the forum that I used to, that's the old radio forums I used to read, but it's just now Reddit or whatever else.

40:50But it's, those communities are amazing because it is super, super fans of things. It's like, that is brilliant. And that is one of the most amazing things about the internet. If I had had like a bit, if I'd ever had a better internet connection when I was 15 or 16, I would have just, I mean, imagine like starting a podcast now, age 18 would be the most exciting thing ever. But yeah, I don't know what I was talking about. But yeah, the live feedback stuff was your question. You just get, you have to get used to it really quickly. And actually, when I first started on the early breakfast show, everyone was really, you're in the sort of trenches at four o 'clock in the morning because no one wants to be up.

41:32You've got really funny truckers who are listening. You've got people who are still pissed from the night before. You've got mad people. Was this your first vlog? My first show was four till 6.30. And it was before the Chris Moyle show. So before we get into that, how, what's your life, what's your routine then? When did you go to sleep? Well, I was 21, so it didn't really matter. And I was just, I had to be up at three. I was up at three and I was in for 3.30, I guess. I actually can't really remember that, but it was about that. And then you're just a mess for the whole day. So you're going to sleep, you're trying to go to bed early, you're trying to have a sleep during the day.

42:04Have you always been good at getting up in the morning? I've always been good at sleeping. Right. Luckily, I'm one of those people that can just fall asleep quickly. but it was also just unbelievably exciting and I was just sort of making friends in London and going to gigs and just like going to the Brits for the first time like this is mad how the fuck has this happened so I was just riding that wave I guess but I remember early when I started doing those shows that at 6 o 'clock you'd get loads of people switching on because that's when a lot of people get up and they're getting ready for the Chris Moyle show Are you aware of that as a presenter?

42:35What numbers? Well you're aware that the research says and your bosses then say don't forget put your best stuff at 10 past six because that's when most people are listening so you're there go i don't want to fuck up this bit yeah yeah but actually the best advice would be just imagine everyone's listening all the time because then you're just like always good yeah i've never understood that first two hours don't worry about that 6 15 has to be good but anyway so we'd always be a bit more nervous a bit more a bit more professional at 6 15 and be like yeah it's like the pre-breakfast show type thing and then you'd get all the millions of people switching on at six o 'clock in the morning and then suddenly the you'd notice that the feedback, the text would get more frequent.

43:12And with every text that's like joining in, you'd be like, you're shit. Like, when's Chris Moyles getting here? Can't bear this twat. And when that first happens, you go, oh, I actually hadn't considered that people might hate me if I got my dream job. And so you have to get your head around that quite quickly and realise that, well, you can't take that person. Otherwise you'd never, never leave the house or sleep. it takes a certain type of person to send that message in the first place anyway that's what I tell myself Steve I'm still doing it for this that's okay, I hate loads of things you can't warm to everyone it's okay, it's not a big deal and as long as the majority of people are enjoying listening to you then that's good why don't we go through a list of things that you don't like that you list in the book obviously I've got an issue with the football pass us the book please what do you mind skiing's one of them which I could not agree more with it's perfect our other host Robbie Knox would absolutely suggest that I've never tried skiing I haven't skiing's all for show but like you said like you say like Fee and I have been on ski holidays the best bit about it is when you're not skiing like that's the shit bit that is the shit bit oh yeah so it was after the chapter about the coconut club and being you know if you don't want to do something when you're at any age just be like I don't want to do that actually I wish I would have I'd have been a bit cooler with it and been like, that's beneath me.

44:38Actually, I was just like, this is way above me. I can't do this. But after I said that, the coconut club isn't the only thing that I was told that I had to be into. And football is quite high up on that list. And I've said football, gun to my head, if football didn't exist, I wouldn't give a shit. Which I've sort of written that for that reaction. I don't really mean that. I don't mean that, but I... Where's your team? Have you got a team? Arsenal is my team. That's the perfect time to enjoy football at the moment. And I do. So that's a lie. It is sort of a light, but I think my point is, is that I've always felt a little bit left out because I haven't loved football enough for my friends and the people I went to school with.

45:16So I've always been a bit left out because I wasn't quite as fanatical as I should have been or like I felt like I should be. But I love it. I mean, I'll watch any sport and I love, I will get into any match. What's your top five sports? I've got mine written here. Well, cricket's number one. Cricket's number one, yeah. I've got to give a shout out to my friend Joel I voice noted you from Reading Joel's a massive fan of yours that was so funny do you remember this? I remember you coming to me and going why have I just sent that we were doing Brent quotes and then you said I was smashed and you said you're not playing it didn't you say something really stupid Greg's gone or something like that but as I was reading them I thought you were giving me recommendations for bands to see and I went over to Joel and I said Greg reckons we should see and I got to the second one and I went Taplo or something like that it was the I remember you voice note in the back play the voice note no don't play the voice note I'll add it in post I will because I need to re-listen to it see what I said that's it because you were at Reading and I was like oh I'd love to come on the podcast at some point and then you said I said catch up you're at Reading this week and then after Reading because in my head it's Brent's doing his you know the world's bigger than just Slough you know you've got Taplow Wynersh you know Bracknell Yately Didcut Didcut and then so I did that and then you thought that I was giving you band recommendation like on the on the Radio 1 stage you've got to go and check out Taplow and how is Wynersh's new album sounding live?

47:01Is it good? I went walking over to Joel and I said, Joel, because not only is Joel a massive cricket fan and a fan of yours, he's like, his favourite band like the Maccabees, so he's like, relates to you massively. Deep into the tail enders folklore. Any music you like, he's going to like, basically. He's like the Norwich Craig James. So I've gone up to him and I've gone, I've gone Joel. It was like a diss for him. I thought I was being cool. I thought I was bringing some new bands to the forefront. So I've gone Joel. We need to see. Do you want to hear the voice? No, no, no. I really want to.

47:29I'll add him post. We don't want to hear it. I think you play it. I don't want to. And you can edit it out. I'll add it in post. I'll add it in post. He'll re-record it. Joel, we need to see Taplet win it. And he's gone, what have you just said? And it was horrific. It was horrific. But top five sports, Greg James? Well, I think it's definitely cricket. And I'd probably go for F1. Then I'd go for football. Then I'd go for rugby because my dad loves rugby. And he's always sort of, me and him bond over rugby. You've got one more. And then, I don't know, really. What's the... It's pain in me not putting darts.

48:06Oh, darts. Yeah. Okay, yeah. Darts is obviously darts. Phenomenal. I think that that is more of pub, though, than sport. Have you been to Ali Pali? I have, yeah. It's brilliant. It's really fun. It just feels like Christmas to me now. Christmas Ali Pali is... Yeah. Oh, you had Luke the Nuke on, didn't you? Yes. How was he? He was quiet. He was new to doing sort of media and interviews. It's tricky, though, isn't it? It was... Because he spent his whole life doing that. Yeah, he didn't be... And he spent all time while I was doing this. Exactly that. But we then did something with him after. And he was a lot better.

48:35And he was way more talkative and stuff. We've had a lot of darts players on there, haven't we? Also, that's a mad thing, because he's 16, and he's having to find out who he is publicly. He's growing up, he's got loads of money now, people know who he is. That's quite a mad life for him, isn't it? Yeah. There's pressure on him and stuff. Anyway, yeah, darts, great one. I just see you awkwardly holding the book there, and I was wondering... Marvel films. That's it. Marvel films. You don't like... Not that I don't like them. I feel like... No, it's that you don't like them, Greg, because they're shit.

49:07Whoa. I don't automatically like them for lots of reasons. Mainly because they get the biggest actors in the whole world and you're looking at them like, I can't even see who that is. Mark Ruffalo, he's just green and massive. It might as well be me. It might as well be you. It might as well be me. Yeah, yeah, right. They're like, Michael Fassbender's in this. Is he? Where is he? What one's he? And I just... Discuss. Discuss. But you do love it. I do love it. Passbender Magneto. That's not the point, though. No, I don't care. Okay, who was Jennifer Lawrence? Mystique. Oh, brilliant. Fine, thanks.

49:44I got what I came for. But you're right. Mystique is, yeah, it could have easily not been her. She's the blue, right? It could have easily not been her. It could have been her, the actress. Do they not all merge into one, though, when it's like Marvel's... Not the characters. Oh. Like when it's like Marvel's Avengers, Avengers Endgame is it not just where's the start I can't tell what are they there's a lot of them yeah there are a lot of them I'm not like a super Marvel fan I've not seen quite a few of them but we don't see eye to eye on the Marvels but you don't like movies that couldn't happen in real life apart right I'm very much in that camp and I'm sitting there going it's not that I haven't got an imagination no I just think there are so many great stories you could tell anyway you don't need to you don't need to you don't need to go that far it's like okay well there's like cool stuff you could do just on earth yeah just on the high street you know the shitty trope that they do when oh and it was all a dream and someone woke up if there's a film that couldn't happen in real life that's the same premise to me like at the end it was all a dream like yeah it doesn't mean it that I've got one exception though what's it and I'm hoping you're the same go on what's your opinion on Harry Potter yeah no you don't oh I love it he loves Harry Potter no I know I know I loved it and I appreciated it and appreciate it.

51:01You're saying everything. I'm not still reading it. You're going past tense there. Yeah. Jack only got into Harry Potter in the last couple of years. The pesto. A year ago. It's the pesto to Potter pipeline. That's the name of my book. Yeah. Pesto to Potter. But that's okay. Look, I want people to read anything. Oh no, he's not reading it. Are you watching the films? Are you following them along? Do you think I'm cool if I read them? bit? Then I read them. Cover to cover. Just like what you like. It really doesn't matter. I don't judge people for liking Marvel. I think it's nice to have those passions.

51:39If you're passionate about Harry Potter, that's great. If you're passionate about Marvel, I just happen to not be a lot of the time. But I'll sit through one and go, that was fun. And mainly also because, and this is going to sound like a real stupid, this is going to sound like a real first world problem. But when I get to interview lots of these people, I'm often forced to go and watch the film. But when I go to the cinema, I'm really ready for the cinema. I'm like, I'm relaxed. But if you're having to watch these films, and I've kind of watched all of them. Right. But I'm having to watch them going, oh, could I ask them about that little bit there?

52:09And that's not a moan, by the way. No. It's a great job to get to do. But I'm like, oh, yes, I could ask them about that. Or I'm watching a shit film and I go. Sierra has all the best active and outdoor brands for the super athletic stuff, like running gear for cruising up the trail. Woo! And the super athlete-ish stuff, like fishing gear for chillin' by the creek. Nice cast. Fitness apparel to push for higher reps. You got this. And golf balls priced so you can afford to lose one. Or a few. Head to Sierra or Sierra.com for the brands you want at the prices that let you do it all. From athletic to athletic-ish, Sierra's got it.

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53:30Bundling. Just another way to save with the personal price plan. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings, and eligibility vary by state. I don't know. How am I going to ask about this? Yeah, right. I go, oh. And you watch the whole film for like, and then you interview them for 10 minutes. Yeah, right. I go, oh, it must have been. great fun on set. How do you interview someone when you actively know you didn't enjoy what you're asking them about? Another great question. This is a, this is, you've got some great questions by the way, because these are, these are tricky, like these are tricky moments in my life where I'm interviewing someone who I will think is great or has some sort of, there's always, there's always something interesting or fun about a person.

54:18Yeah. There's always something. and that is me having to do my job properly, which is there's merit to everything that comes through the door, which is like, even if I don't like that film, there's obviously a great story or that somebody loves it or something. So there's always something interesting there. And if I can't do that, then I've stopped being interested basically. So yeah, there are some tricky films. Like I've seen probably more Vin Diesel films than I should have done in my life. Well, nothing against Vin Diesel. It's not your style of film. Well, I don't mind a couple of Vin Diesel films, but I've probably seen about eight and then had to interview him about them.

54:53And I'm like, here we are again with... That's just Fast and Furious, isn't it? Yeah, it's all those films. But that's the thing about the job is that I have to put myself and should put myself to one side. And I know that millions of people love Marvel films, so I'm not going to sit there and just go, well, this one was boring, Michael. Imagine you did that. What are you doing that for? Just the money, is it? I think that's not really, that's not my job then. But that's why I've loved doing this because I can just be a bit more of my full self in it. Do you... It's okay to hate stuff. Yeah. Because then you work out what you love.

55:25Yeah. And when I say I hate Marvel, I don't hate the people that enjoy Marvel. It's just not... Why would you say that? Unless it's Soella, then I hate it now. Do you think Soella likes Marvel? I don't know. I feel bad about the whole... Right. Why do you feel bad about that? This is going to turn into Diary Studio now. It starts 10 years ago and people still laugh if I mention her name. But I was just like, it makes it seem like I've had this 10-year vendetta against this lady in Brighton that's never done anything to me. No. Doctor. But you were... Doctor. But also, you were punching up then.

56:04Yeah. That's important. Right. That is important. And it was gentle ribbing, I'd say. Thank you, Greg. Yeah. Greg, like we were then saying, you've interviewed some of the biggest, most influential people on the planet. do you still get nervous for it or not you do yeah because I should if I'm not bothered about an interview or if I'm not bothered when you know Stephen Graham and Jeremy Allen White come in then that means that I should not be doing that job anymore because it is that's amazing I find that so fun that these people obviously they're not there for me they're there to plug their thing on a big breakfast show but they they want to have a nice time I want to have a nice time So there's this sort of transactional thing for a bit, which is like, just come into our world, have a mess around.

56:50And I really, really love doing that. So you do have to do your prep, read the book, watch the film, even if it's the 10th Vin Diesel film you've watched that year. And you have to be really up for it. And if they see that you're up for it and excited, then they tend to meet you halfway and they're like, oh, I'm going to do this because they'll have a million interviews to do. So my aim is always to go, I just want there to be at least one thing where they're like, oh, I wasn't expecting that. Or, oh, I really enjoyed that. Yeah, they'll appreciate it. You take them out of that monotonous routine.

57:21Yeah, and we really like asking them to come into the studio because it's, as you know, here, it's nice that guests come into your world and see what this is all about and ask you questions about your stuff. And the very best, most famous people either are interested or are brilliant at pretending to be interested. Right, right. And they'll, you know, like The Rock asked me about the book and he was like, buddy, I hear there's a book. And I was like, actually there's a chapter about you and there is a chapter about him, which I've shown him. What did he make of it? I don't think he read it. I think one of his 17 helpers.

57:57Yeah, right, okay. He had 17 people with him, by the way. 17? Literally 17. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who's counting? Me. I have to check him in. I'm also the fire marshal. Did you not know? Sorry. But there's 17 people that came in with entourage. So, you know, but I mean, he is a billionaire. He's walking around like the president, really. Yeah. Because he's got motorcade. You've only turned up at 12 today. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I do. Yeah. And this coffee's fucking cold. Oh, we can't have a coffee saga. That actually sounds like a preview. Yeah. Yeah. Was there a guest that kicked off? We had a little bit of a nightmare one.

58:33We will leave that there, Mr. Greg James. Really? We'll tell you off camera. Yeah. It was not very... Okay. All right. But look, The Rock, professional. He was a pro and remembered the last interview. Taylor Swift was the same. She remembers the stuff. So they're either well-breathed or they do remember. Either way, it doesn't really matter. It's show business and they're in it. And all you want is them to be committed to it. And so all those people, yes. Short answer to your question, yes, I still get nervous. Because it would be mad if I didn't. Did you get starstruck? Yeah. Nervous and starstruck.

59:07Like, again, it's sort of, I'm excited about stuff. And if you're not excited about meeting David Attenborough or a bit, you know, a bit, oh my God, it's David Attenborough. It's like, it's God. That's a perfect way to put it as well. Because I think some people, and like not to get on my whole anti-YouTuber shtick again as well, but they don't realise how lucky they are to meet people like this and to do the job that we do as well. I still get stir-struck when people come in. You can't believe that I'm getting to do it. And you have to keep that excitement and that awe. But that's, that's, I mean, that's the, that's the whole point of, I wouldn't, I love what The Breakfast Show gives me in terms of a life.

59:43And it's like, it's my dream job. I can't believe that I managed to do it, but I wouldn't still do it if I didn't find it exciting. You can't pretend. There's no way that I could pretend for three and a half hours a day for seven years. That would be the performance of a lifetime. but I have to, I am excited by it, but you have to be up for it in those, in those, uh, in those moments when you've got the big stars, you know, like don't fuck this up because like, this is a big opportunity. Have you ever fucked up an interview? Have you ever had a car crash? I think in my early years, definitely.

1:00:17We'd had a lot of, we'd had a lot of interviews on the afternoon show, which were, I wasn't really, I just wasn't, I didn't really know who I was particularly and it's like speed dating yeah you've got to be you've got to be confident enough to get good stuff out of them and for them to be be comfortable that that you're being they're being interviewed by a by a professional but also be loose enough to kind of go with it and i think i was working out who it was so i did some terrible interviews probably both like justin timberlake there was a boring one um but that's because i didn't i didn't know what was going on with here and there was like a so that i remember that not being very good i remember bradley cooper wasn't particularly fun and I was quite sad about that.

1:00:54Oh, I love, yeah. I love the Hangover movies. Well, it was for the Hangover 3. Oh, was it? And I think they'd all checked out, taken an unbelievable amount of money. Yeah. And they were just sort of on this treadmill of doing the... If it was for one or two, it'd probably been a bit more fun. I think so. Yeah. And he'd just won the Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook. Oh, wow. I remember he walked in and I was like, Bradley, I just want to say, obviously I love the Hangover films, but I love Silver Linings Playbook. I love the, I love, congratulations on the Oscar and stuff. He was just like, I think he was just hung over.

1:01:22And they were just like not up for anything fun. And I thought I sort of, I do want, I do need Zach Galifianakis and you to be fun here. Because that's sort of what the listeners will be expecting. And I just, I find that a bit. Was Zach there as well that day? Zach was there. And I think Ed Helms was there. What's Zach like? They were, they were, I remember them being fine. Right. But it's not that I, I don't know. It's not like I, I want them to be, I don't know. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but more often than not, it's that people are really up for it and they realise that it's their opportunity to have a nice time.

1:01:57And that I really like that. And I do sort of sit there and go, sometimes I think, this is hard work. I don't care if your film does well. That's on you. You're fucking this. I don't want to talk about your shit film. But if I didn't believe in this, for example, but it's like, you're not here to plug this. I believe in this thing, so I want to talk to people about it. But I'm like, you've just been paid two million pounds to talk about this film. Talk about it. I don't want to have to big it up. Anyway, that gets frustrating. I had a car crash one back in the day. I had to do one, way before I even did this fucking pod, I wish I could do it again now, but did a press junket for Ted 2.

1:02:43So Mark Wahlberg, and he was very unforgiving. i can imagine and i was shitting myself to be fair like why have they put me i was new to why did they put me in like i could if i was mark walberg i'd have fucking hated me as well but but literally he refused to shake my hand on the camera because we'd all i'd already shaken his hand when i come into the room so i shake his hand sit there camera's on we then begin the interview and i say and i and he and i get to put my hand out and he just refused and just go but we already shook cans already and i'm like yeah obviously um okay and then i mispronounced his surname and called him warberg warberg called him fatberg you call mark warberg fatberg on tv and people lately they think you're a prat it was horrible but great so just quickly on on people like that yeah i sort of i've never met him but i imagine he'd be quite difficult to interview right you can just there's a when people people always say who's like been difficult I think if you think about it you can tell that you can work it out it just but most people are really really nice on the shaking the hands thing I remember Sandra Bullock refused to shake my hand as well but she was were you soaking wet like you went to know it turned up because if so I'm fully back I was sweating profusely and my trousers had fallen down what did she say So she said it was a junket interview and they're really stressful.

1:04:15Yeah. They're horrible. Four minutes. Yeah. Four minutes. Go and speak to Meryl Streep now. Meryl, the queen.

1:04:25And the film's great. Yeah. Bullock. Bullock. I went to shake her hand and she said, I'm not shaking hands today. My kid's not very well. I'm like, what? And then she was like, that was it. And got into the interview. And then I realised that she meant that she didn't want to, she thought that germs were going to be from her kid's mouth into her hand, into my hand. Then I'm going to go, oh. And then I'd be ill with Sandra Bullock's kid's flu. So she could either be, the way I'm seeing that, she could either be being really nice and she's trying to protect you from the kid's illness, or she could be really bitter and be like, someone's made my fucking kid ill so I'm not shaking strangers hands again maybe it's that maybe it's that it's that one or she just didn't want to shake hands that's fine just be honest fair enough I'm not doing that is there anyone you're yet to interview that you really want to ooh um I'd like to get Attenborough again that'd be nice the fact you're saying yeah you're saying again well it's been a while but it's cool as fuck though it is cool yeah but that's the sort of the big dickness of Radio 1 right is that people want to come and do interviews and that always is very very cool what I don't know if this is such cringey questions.

1:05:42What is he like? But what is he like? He's amazing. He's exactly as you'd imagine. Right, okay, cool. He knows exactly who he is. He's David Attenborough. But he is very comfortable with what he's done in his career. He's not a massive ego. He turns up maybe with someone from the show he's working on, but he doesn't turn up with 17 people. He doesn't need to. But he just has a really nice life. He's really interested in the world, interested in people. and when we had him on it was when a debt it was when adele came back with that song hello okay which would have been i guess 2015 yeah and i was doing the afternoon show i was doing drive time drive time and um it was live and i said to him you know adele's just come back and she's done this video and i showed him the video and said can you do a little voiceover of this as if she's coming back into the wild great and he just went yeah sure it was amazing he just went actually before the end I said that before the interview and he was like oh yeah well that could be fun we'll see how it goes and then during the interview he went and before I go what was the Adele thing he wanted to do I was like oh my god he's up for it so he did this thing and that was that was a that was a big sort of viral Attenborough moment before viral was sort of did you think of that or was that production team I don't know I think it was that's really good I want to say just say you I'm being a client I'll say it no but it normally is a great team effort with those sorts of things where someone will go, what are we going to do with Attenborough?

1:07:07And then someone will go, I can voice over something. Actually, my mate Pat came up with a really great idea for Attenborough. Pat Cahill was a very good comedian. Me, him and John Kearns used to live together at uni. And he always used to be on my radio shows on student radio. And he came up with a great idea for Attenborough where it was the Winter Olympics. And he said, why don't you get Attenborough to commentate on the curling? And we'd got him to do that. and Pat wrote this thing which was about like little nuts being rolled down the ice and stuff and Atom was going and here we go the main walnut is being rolled towards the nest whatever it might be and that was really cool so it's always nice to like working with people is the best thing about doing that job because you've got some very funny brains in the room well I want to do a quick little game for you quick little game I'm going to hit you with 10 names that you've had on the show I think or you've interviewed them in some capacity please just want a one word about them okay Stevie, kick us off.

1:08:02Bob Mortimer. King. King of silly. That's three words. Oh, yeah. Where are we going to allow it? Word, phrase. The king of silly. Without him, none of us would be doing anything. That's too much, but Dwayne the Rock Johnson. Soon to be president. Michael Palin. Icon. Number one hero. Alan Sugar. Grumpy old twat. That is a thing for me. so we did this thing for years right i know you want to do quickfire but i've just got to say this is gold i've got to get this out yeah we did this thing every year when the apprentice started yeah where i would do an interview with him where it would just be the joke was i'd be his and like an annoying nephew just annoying uncle alan sugar and we did a couple of them and it was really fun because he was playing the grump and then it just got to the point where he was just being an arse i was like this is don't actually be like this this is a pantomime you're being actually like So you interviewed him years...

1:09:00Yeah, we did a few sort of funny interviews where he'd be like... And then one year he just changed. I was like, this is not fun anymore. It was just Aggie. I was like, no, we're done here. But it was fine. I mean, he's just, you know, an old grump, isn't he? Great answer. Alan Sugar. No, we've just done Alan Sugar. Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran. Really lovely man. I love Ed Sheeran. Sent a keg of beer to a stag do I was doing. Oh, did he? Yeah, because we were going on a stag do near his house in Suffolk. Our neck of the woods. Yeah, near Framlingham. And he said, I'll send you a keg of beer.

1:09:34And he did. We had a keg Sheeran in the garden. You can always win me over with a pun. Miley Cyrus. Mad. Like actual bonkers, but brilliant. Elmo. Oh. Just, I nearly cried when I met Elmo. So emotional. Will Poulter. Oh yeah, handsome. Yeah, great. Sort of like solid. Is that the one you fancy, Fee? There's a few, but yeah. There's a few. Who's the few? Who else? I'll tell you one. Nicholas Holt? I'll tell you one. A funny one. Also, Alex Zane. Oh. Fancy Alex Zane? And when he was coming on, did you tell him that he's her whole pass? Yeah. That was awkward. I told him before the interview as well, so that made it awkward for an hour.

1:10:20That was weird. Don't tell him. Don't tell the person that. Do you know who else chatted up Fiona? Kevin Hart's brother. how weird is that like that's that's my my life how weird is that as a sentence he said he said you're you're you're very gorgeous he said in america and then he went i like them shoes as well and he went what is your name wow too many too many words see actually i don't think we're allowed um that game shouldn't happen with us because we get to interview people and it's uncomfortable oh yeah yeah yeah i had i had a proper argument with bella my wife and my niece who is 17 and like her and Bella are just like teenagers, like just chatting and gossiping the whole time.

1:11:02And we were driving somewhere and my niece and Bella were both like, let's do the hall pass game. That's who are your three hall passes? Who are they? Uncle Greg, who are your three hall passes? I'm not going to do that. And then, and then Bella like reeled off hers and they're just basically really handsome, rugged, um, sort of actors like Oscar Isaacs is one of them. Right. Um, really, they don't nothing like me at all. I'm just sitting there like, going, that's fine. And they're like, oh, I've told you mine now. Tell us yours. Who was yours? And I went, I'm not going to do it because you'll get annoyed.

1:11:35You'll get annoyed. I'm not going to do this. It's going to be awkward because I'll have to interview them. And they're like, oh, don't be boring. We won't get annoyed, I promise. I went, you will. This is not going to end well. This is going to be horrible. And they were like, go on, do it, do it. And I went, okay, fine. It's Dua Lipa three times.

1:11:53Oh. The whole journey, silence. Have you interviewed Julie for since then? Not since, but inevitably I will. And it's fine. It's not going to be a good day in your household. It's also not true. Twice. Before we let you go, Greg, before we let you go, we've not gone very linear here. We've gone all over the place. I've enjoyed it a lot. It's been good fun. We wanted to, back when we were talking about you at UEA, we wanted to test your general knowledge when it comes to Norwich in a game that I'd like to call, do a little jingle for me. You're going to call it General Norwich? Yeah, but I need a little...

1:12:34It's the happy hour, and it's time for... General Norwich. General Norwich. Such a good voice for her. That is very good. Yeah. I've listened to a lot of the Partridge audiobooks. If you go, General Norwich. Okay. Five questions. All about Norwich to see if you are an official, adopted Norwichman. General Norwich is a great pun, by the way. I really like it. Greg. Yes. Who is the puppet man? Oh my God, outside Primark. Those are locations straight away as well. So we went back to Norwich a few weeks ago and I said to my mate, where is he? He died a long time ago. I think he's no longer. No, he's about.

1:13:17He's about. He went to Yama for a bit. He's still alive. He's still alive. I saw him. He went to Yama. I saw him a few weeks ago. He went to Yarmouth for a bit. And, right. Is it like a Fassbender thing? It could be anyone. Someone's taken over. Someone's taken over. It's just a franchise. Franchisee. Yeah. So he's still around. That's good. He went to Yarmouth for a bit. He got hounded out of Norwich because of some rumours. Diddling. No. Didn't need to say that. Come on. But he's back in Norwich now. And he's having a resurgence. He's like Adele. He's back. He's like Adele. For any listeners that don't know who the puppet man is, what does he do?

1:14:00So the puppet man sort of, well, he just had puppets outside. He had a little wagon and he would just go around doing puppet shows and the music would just be on all the time. Wagon's gone. Wagon's gone, is it? There was no puppet show, no talking or anything. It was just... No, he just sort of... Shakes his hands. Dances with these puppets for a long time. Yeah, he's not doing a ventriloquist. No, they're kind of just socks as well. They're not... So he's still in... He's around. Still knocking about... I saw him a couple of weeks ago. Okay, well... Good on him. Number two, what is a Bishy Barnaby?

1:14:29I actually don't know. What's a Bishy Barnaby? It's weird that you... But then you... Out of all of these, that was the one I... Go on, was it? Maybe I should know. It's a ladybird, but only people from Norwich call it a Bishy Barnaby. I've never heard of it. I like that, though. I've never heard of that. It's like a big thing in Norwich, but I've never heard a Norwich person say it either, other than to tell people that that's what it is. My dad and my granddad say it. Do they? A Bishy Barnaby. Where does it come from? Do you know? Sorry to make it into QI. Not a clue. We should know, as we've spoken about it on here before.

1:14:59Bishy Barnaby. I'd like you to pronounce these three place names. Oh, come on. I'm good at this. Is one of them Cossie? Yeah. It's got to be. It's got to be. Are you going Cossie, boy? Yeah, great. Cossie, Wyndham, and oh, I don't know that one. I didn't know this one, to be fair. I guess it's not Hapsborough. I think it's Haysborough. Haysborough, yeah. Haysborough. See, I learned all... Well, I didn't... That one didn't sink in, but I did... I used to... One of my early radio work experiences were at BBC Norfolk. Right. So you had to learn all the... You're like this, actually. I did the phones for Canary Call.

1:15:39Did you? Yeah. In the Nigel Worthington era. Yeah, I did. So I took all the calls. I was... I must have been... I was 18. and there was an amazing guy called Matt Gudgeon who used to do the sports show on a Saturday. Right. And I was amazed at how he'd got all the lines up for all the different outside broadcasts and all the local games and stuff. He'd be like, there's been a goal at Great Yarmouth and it would go straight to it. That's phenomenal. But I was on the phones for Canary Court and he'd be like, Nigel Wurrington's a piece of shit. Get me on the radio. Talk about it, boy. And it was so fun.

1:16:15I loved doing that. That is brilliant. I love it. Down at the forum. next question what clothing store in the middle of Norwich is used more as a shortcut than a shop clothing store it wouldn't be Gerald's would it no but the fact you know what Gerald's is is cute you've actually already mentioned it what have I mentioned you get from you can pretty much get from like the market to like the back the back where like Castle Mile is it's like a oh it's like a little it's like a sort of covered walkway bit, no? No, that's the Royal Arcade. It's Primark. Oh, it's Primark. Oh, okay, straight through.

1:16:55This was, I'd say, my later high school years in sixth form, we used to play a game where you'd have to hold your breath and see if you can walk from one end to the other. Primark's so busy that you'd always have to breathe before you get to the other side. Everyone's fainting by the knickers. And then finally, easy one, what is the football team's nickname and the ground called? Oh, Carrow Road and the Canaries. There we go. You are an official Norwichian. Just about. Now, Greg, it's been a pleasure today, mate. Thanks for coming on. I hope you've enjoyed it. You're a very funny man. Wow. Sorry, I was rambling.

1:17:29And I think I could genuinely say if I didn't like this book, I actually was, I told you this the other day, I was on the treadmill. I was laughing out loud. Oh, that's nice. Twice in an hour. That's good. That's a good hit rate. Yeah, you'll take that. That's a good hit rate. And I haven't read the end yet. but what do you because Stevie asked me this in the car I couldn't answer it what do you hope people get from this book because it's not it's not a memoir but there's bits of my life that are in it and they jump off I want people to remember to have a nice time even though becoming a grown up is stressful and bills and jobs and people that break your heart and people that you love dying you can still do the fun stuff that you did when you were a kid.

1:18:16But also I wanted to sort of be a guide through your 20s and your 30s, I guess, of like, it's okay, stop panicking. Like, stop rushing stuff. Think about all those life things that you thought you should do. Like, you don't have to get married. You don't have to go and do that job if you don't want to. You don't have to have kids if you don't want to. So it's sort of a bit about not being passively going through life and trying to have a nice time along the way. Just a little spin-off on that real quick. Your video last night about the kids. Oh, yeah. That went mad. Yeah, it went mad. but that really resonated with me and Vy.

1:18:47Okay. We're at that point now, 32, and we're at that point where we've been discussing for a long time what should we do. Vy, if you don't want me to talk about it, I can cut it out, but I said to her in the summer, I was like, let's do two more Glastonbury's. Right, okay, yeah, that's good. Yeah, two more Glastonbury's. One Glastonbury's gone now, so I've got one more Glastonbury's. You've got a fallow year. You have got a fallow year. So actually it's technically three. yeah no it's true but what you said in that video it really did resonate with us because we don't have a fucking clue what to do well that's the thing I realised as I grow up and you start seeing that adults around you also don't have a clue and it's quite peaceful to realise that and you go well everyone's sort of muddling their way through and there's no right answer to having kids or not but really there's like a right answer for you and that's what me and Bella have come to which is actually for us we're okay not having kids and we thought about it and Bella was pregnant at one point.

1:19:47She lost the kid. And actually, we both hated that situation. We were like, actually, we don't really want to do this enough. So we thought, let's not do it. And I really firmly believe that you can have a really nice life with kids and a really nice life without them and no shade on anyone that has kids because if you know and you're really convinced about it, I think that's great. That's really, really cool if you're up for it. but if you're not really up for it if neither of you are up for it and just like oh we should do that because like mum really wants a grandkid yeah bad reason to do it if you've got good reasons to do it then fill your boots and pop them out but yeah there's lots of things like that which is just to say it's okay to have mad thoughts about that kind of thing and to not be sure that's it really that was a great way to put it mate and again could be a cliche but a great Christmas present so go out and grab it great Christmas present I think we're actually holding off posting this for a while as well This will go out early December, I believe.

1:20:43So what you got left in 2025 then, Greg? Just chill out. Not much. Just have a fucking pad thai and a bath. That's what I'm going to do. Chill out. Want to join me? Would you have a pad thai and a bath with me? I still don't fully know what a pad thai is. How big's your bath? I'm going to leave it there. There we go. This has been Jack Mates Happy Hour Podcast with me, Jack Mates, Stevie White, and the brilliant Greg James. Greg, we always finish the same question. What's the meaning of life? well the meaning of life is to chill out and have a nice time okay there we go that's it see you in a few days Merry Christmas a bit early

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