Greg James reveals Chris Moyles would mock him for being a 'posh student' during his early days at BBC Radio 1

By BETHAN EDWARDS, SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER Published: 01:38, 15 May 2026 | Updated: 02:30, 15 May 2026 Greg James has revealed how Chris Moyles would mock him for being a 'posh student' when he first started at BBC Radio 1.  Greg, 40, landed a gig at the BBC when he was just 21, however Chris, who was hosting the Radio 1 Breakfast show at the time, quickly formed an opinion on the eager young broadcaster.  At the time, Greg secured the early breakfast slot on BBC Radio 1 in 2007 on an £80,000 salary, and was branded 'posh' by outspoken Chris.  Speaking in his memoir All the Best for the Future, the Hertfordshire-born presenter, whose parents were both teachers, admitted he was shocked by the Yorkshire DJ 'winding him up'. He recalled: 'Imagine my surprise when I turned up at Radio 1 and was thrust into the incredible daytime line-up to do the Early Breakfast Show before Chris Moyles every day, only for him to start calling me 'the posh student'. 'I really wasn't expecting that. I don't help myself with the cricket thing, but it felt reductive to be called that.'  Greg James has revealed how Chris Moyles would mock him for being a 'posh student' when he first started at BBC Radio 1 He wrote: 'Moyles didn't know anything about me. He had no idea what my upbringing was like. 'He saw what he thought was a nice, excited, slightly boring 21-year-old from the Home Counties with fantastic flowing indie hair who he could wind up a bit because I was new and just very happy to be there. 'But I'd also managed to make my way to the best radio station in the world at a madly competitive time.' Despite their early clashes, Greg said the on-air sparring ultimately helped prepare him for the brutal realities of the broadcasting industry. 'Eventually we had quite a funny on-air relationship where we'd take the p*** out of each other,' he wrote. 'I guess I was just bog-standard middle class and that wasn't interesting to him. I had to prove myself and also start working out who I was. So I'm grateful for the baptism of fire.' Greg, who succeeded Nick Grimshaw as Radio 1 Breakfast host in 2018, also paid tribute to former station star Scott Mills, describing him as one of his broadcasting heroes during his university years. 'I'd wake up extra early just to listen to the last bit of Scott's show before I had to get ready,' he wrote.  'He was consistently funny, daring and so creative. I loved the games, the features and the spontaneity of it. It was so, so good.' Scott was removed from the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show earlier this year following allegations relating to his personal conduct. Greg, 40, landed a gig at the BBC when he was just 21, however Chris, who was hosting the Radio 1 Breakfast show at the time, quickly formed an opinion on the eager young broadcaster Speaking in his memoir All the Best for the Future, the Hertfordshire-born presenter, whose parents were both teachers, admitted he was shocked by the Yorkshire DJ 'winding him up' It comes after Greg shocked audiences when he delivered an expletive-laden performance at a north London church last month. The F-word was dropped multiple times in front of a crowd that included children as he appeared alongside Rivals star Emily Atack. During the live event, the pair took aim at Prince William, Ant and Dec, and even former ITV golden girl Holly Willoughby. 'It was shocking – no one expected them to swear like that, especially with children there,' one attendee told Daily Mail's Richard Eden.  Greg, who was joined on his Comic Relief charity bike ride last month by the Prince of Wales, brought along the helmet worn by the royal. He said: 'I do believe this is Prince William's helmet. Would you like to touch the royal helmet? Pass it around, I was going to say as long as it comes back full of royal nits, but he's bald as a coot.' The radio star added he found it strange riding with William: 'It was amazing, he was on that saddle there, staring at my a**.' But it was Emily's swipe at Holly that drew the biggest reaction. After arriving on stage declaring, 'Where the f*** is Greg?', the 36-year-old actress went on to deliver a mocking impression of the former This Morning presenter. Speaking about her pristine public image, Emily said: 'If you're in the public eye and you've got a platform, people want to hear from you. 'There's this ridiculous idea that as a celebrity you have to be squeaky clean and do 'Holly Willoughby'.' Greg, who was promoting his memoir All The Best For The Future at Union Chapel Islington, also fired a shot at ITV favourites Ant and Dec. He said: '[They] are doing a podcast now. 'TV work's dried up, let's do a podcast!' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. 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