Gregory James Alan Milward (born 17 December 1985), known professionally as Greg James, is a British radio DJ, television presenter and author. He has been a presenter on BBC Radio 1 since 2007, and has hosted the station's flagship breakfast show since 2018. Before then, he presented its drive-time show.
Since 2017, James has co-hosted the BBC's cricket podcast Tailenders alongside the England cricketer James Anderson and guitarist for the Maccabees, Felix White. He is also a children's author, most notable for the Kid Normal book series with Chris Smith.
Early life
Gregory James Alan Milward was born to Alan and Rosemary Milward on 17 December 1985 in Lewisham, South London. His parents were both teachers; his father a headteacher, and his mother a special-needs teacher. He has a sister, Catherine. As a baby, he almost died, having to have three blood transfusions due to a rare blood disorder.
James attended four schools as a child, moving around a lot due to his father's headteacher job. He studied drama at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. At university, he lived with comedians John Kearns and Pat Cahill.
At age 14, after repeatedly asking his local hospital radio station, James was given a show; however, he later discovered that the transmitter was broken, so none of his shows actually went out. James previously played cricket for Hertfordshire Under-18s.
Radio
Whilst at university, he presented several shows on the students' union radio station Livewire 1350AM, becoming the station manager in 2006, though he said it was a job he did not enjoy. He later said that he "owe that place basically everything" when returning to visit the station in 2025. He also presented several breakfast shows on Future Radio in Norwich and on Pulse Rated, Salhouse before he got his break at BBC Radio 1. He won 'Best Male Presenter' at the Student Radio Awards 2005. During university holidays he presented stints on Capital North East (then Galaxy North East).
James joined BBC Radio 1 in June 2007 to present the Early Breakfast Show on Fridays and to provide cover for other presenters, including Sara Cox and Vernon Kay. He first presented the show on 1 June 2007, the day after graduating from university. In October, he was appointed as the full-time presenter of the Early Breakfast Show, which aired from 04:30 to 07:00 before being rescheduled to 04:00 to 06:30. His first full-time show was broadcast on 1 October, and his inaugural Record of the Week was "Hometown Glory" by Adele.
On 21 September 2009, BBC Radio 1 introduced a new schedule in which James moved to the early afternoon slot from 13:00 to 16:00, replacing Edith Bowman, who moved to the weekend breakfast slot.
From March 2010 to January 2013, James presented The Official Chart Update on Wednesday afternoons, initially from 15:30 to 16:00 and later from 16:00 to 16:30 after moving to the drivetime slot Scott Mills succeeded him as presenter at the original 15:30 time.
Between 2011 and 2015, James also co-hosted Not Just Cricket on 5 Live with England cricketers Graeme Swann and James Anderson. The show's main focus was cricket, but topics were varied.
He also hosted a weekly podcast That's What He Said with former BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat presenter Chris Smith. The podcast ended when James began presenting the Radio 1 Breakfast Show.
On 16 February 2013, James guest presented the BBC Radio 5 Live comedy sports programme Fighting Talk, standing in for Colin Murray.
On 15 November 2017, James along with Felix White, Jimmy Anderson, renewed producer Mark 'Sharky' Sharman (AKA Sharknado the Movie) and regular input from Bristolian Matt ‘Mattchin’ Horan began hosting a cricketing podcast Tailenders. This was initially a weekly podcast covering the 2017–18 Ashes series, but from 23 May 2018 it was renewed to continue on a 'weekly' basis. Features include 'General Cricketing Sadness', 'Mattchin's Quiz' and 'Black Wednesday/Xmas Show/App Launch'.
Since 2019, James has also presented the BBC Radio 4 series Rewinder, a show where he digs through the BBC archives to find classic material to reflect on current stories of the week.
In February 2023, James launched Formula 1 podcast The Fast And The Curious alongside former Radio 1 Newsbeat presenter Christian Hewgill and BBC Sport broadcaster Betty Glover.
Drivetime
On 28 February 2012, it was announced that James and Scott Mills would swap shows from 2 April, with James taking over the Drivetime Show from 16:00 to 19:00. Regular features during his tenure included "The 10 Minute Takeover" (Monday to Thursday at 18:00), "Impossible Karaoke", "Rage against the Answer Machine", "Mayor of Where", "Ask The Nation", "Wrong Uns", "What's My Age Again" (prior to The Official Chart moving to Fridays), celebrity guests on Thursdays and film reviews with critic Ali Plumb. The show also featured improvised games with Chris Smith, the main afternoon Newsbeat reader.
James occasionally presented the show from outside the studio, including a week broadcasting from the BFBS radio studio in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, and hosting "G In the Park", a mini-music festival from the BBC in Glasgow prior to the T in the Park festival.
Following the change to the global release date for new music, from 10 July 2015, his Friday show was replaced between 16:00 and 17:45 by The Official Chart, followed by Dance Anthems from 18:00 to 19:00. The drivetime slot was typically divided into two segments, with a fifteen-minute break between 17:45 and 18:00 for the evening Newsbeat bulletin.
On 19 June 2017, James chose the name "RoboCrop" from "thousands and thousands" of listeners' suggestions for a tractor on loan to Dorset Police to tour agricultural shows to raise awareness of rural crime. Dorset Police said the tractor, equipped with a siren, had a top speed of 23 mph (37 km/h) and was "not built for response policing".
Radio 1 Breakfast
On 20 August 2018, James took over Radio 1 Breakfast from Nick Grimshaw. The pair switched shows, with Grimshaw taking on the Drivetime show between 16:00–19:00. It was announced by the two presenters on Grimshaw's Breakfast Show on 31 May, with Grimshaw joking "It's time for a change, time for a new show and, most importantly, it's going to be time for a new wake-up time... preferably around 11:30 am". Both presenters were very excited about the change, with James saying that taking over would be a "big challenge" but he was ready and willing "to give it a go". His first guest on the show was Wallace the Lion from Blackpool Zoo. The show was broadcast four days a week, until December 2020 when the BBC announced changes to the Radio 1 schedule, with James' Breakfast Show now being five days a week, whilst Matt Edmondson and Mollie King moved from the weekend breakfast show to the weekend afternoon slot.
Television
James is also a TV presenter. In 2009, he presented a TV show for BBC Three called Sun, Sex and Holiday Madness, about British tourists in Magaluf and Young, Jobless and Living at Home, also for BBC Three. He has presented Sound on BBC Two's Switch and he hosted the backstage winners' podium at the 2009 BRIT Awards, which he did again in 2010.
In 2011, James had a non-speaking cameo role in the Doctor Who episode "Closing Time".
James presented the BBC Three's coverage of Glastonbury Festival 2011 and in August 2012, the Reading and Leeds Festival (both with Fearne Cotton). He presented coverage of T in the Park 2012, alongside Edith Bowman in July. In 2013, James co-presented extensive coverage of Radio 1's Big Weekend on BBC Three with Alice Levine. In June 2013, James once again hosted BBC Three's coverage of Glastonbury, alongside Gemma Cairney.
He again hosted the BBC's coverage of festivals including Radio 1's Big Weekend, T in The Park, Reading, and Glastonbury in the summer of 2014.
In 2012, James co-presented two series of Unzipped (originally named Britain Unzipped) on BBC Three with Russell Kane and later How…