Greg James has finally spilled the beans on his real name after 17 years, confessing he switched it up for Radio 1 because it sounded "like a teacher's name". The BBC host, 38, who's been a familiar voice on Radio 1 since 2007, has always been known by his moniker, Greg James.
Now, he's dishing the dirt to Kathy Burke ahead of his new book launch, The Kid Who Fell Through Time, where he'll be using his full name. Chatting on Kathy's podcast, Where There's A Will, There's A Wake, Greg revealed: "I'm writing a book. It's my first non-fiction adult book. It's gonna come out next year, and I was writing a chapter on my name. It's turned into a bit of a secret, but it's not a secret at all. In that Greg James is not my full name."
He went on to explain: "I was looking around at like Sara Cox, Scott Mills. So my full name, my surname is Milward. It's like a teacher's name. It's like a headteacher's name. Greg Milward. My dad was a headteacher and I was like, 'Well, it's probably not that cool. I don't really like it that much'. So I chose Greg James."
But reflecting on his choice, he admits he might have chosen differently if given another shot. "My regret is that I should have thought it through," he added.
"Because by the time Radio 1 had sort of spotted me; I'd won this award basically, and Radio 1 were in touch, and before I knew it, I was doing a tryout show for them, and Greg James appeared in the Radio Times, in the listings, and I was like, 'it's too late, I can't change it now.", reports the Mirror.
He confessed: "And then it just went on and on and on, and I'm stuck with it now, I'm powerless to change it. I'm not too fussed about it, it's an alright radio name, but I wish I'd been more creative."
Kathy reassured him the name has a certain ring to it, saying: "No, no, because Greg James, like you say it's got that bang bang."
Born in Lewisham, South London, to parents Alan and Rosemary, who were both teachers, Greg went on to meet his future wife, journalist Bella Mackie, who proposed to him in February 2018. The couple kept their engagement under wraps until June of that year when Greg shared the news with his fans on Instagram.
Revealing the news, Greg said: "Oh while we're doing announcements, here's something else...I'm having the time of my life and enjoying my work more than ever. I feel really content and it's nice to have my shit together before I undertake a huge new work challenge. One of the main reasons for this happiness is because I met this person."
"This is Bella and in February she asked me to marry her. I said yes immediately because she is the smartest, funniest and most beautiful person I've ever met. The only problem is she loves staying up into the early hours drinking as much as I do and this is not conducive with 5am alarms. That said, it's been quite a year."
Greg gushed over tying the knot with Bella back in September 2018, swooning on social media with: "Bella and I got married and it was the most incredible day of my life. I think it was up there for her too."
He continued, overwhelmed with joy, "She is the best thing ever and I feel like I might actually burst with happiness."
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