05 March 2024 , 22:42
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Jamie Laing was forced to start his new job at BBC Radio 1 without a contract after Jordan North was suddenly axed.
The former Made In Chelsea star has stepped in to replace Jordan as co-host on the station’s drive time slot, Going Home, with Vick Hope and new presenter Katie Thistleton. It comes after Jordan was reportedly pulled off air with immediate effect after telling radio bosses he was jumping ship to their biggest rival, Capital, where he will take over the breakfast show from Roman Kemp.
As everything happened so quickly, a bewildered Jamie almost turned up for work early on his first day as he admitted he didn’t know what time he was supposed to be on air, as no one had told him. During his debut show on Monday afternoon, the 35-year-old told listeners: “I didn’t even know it started at 3.30pm. I thought it started at two until Vick told me.” He then revealed: “I don’t have a contract yet.”
His new co-host Vick, who is married to Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, chimed in: “It’s all change here on Going Home. You go off and do Countdown, you go to Lapland and hello Katie and Jamie. What’s the worst that can happen? I know it was a whirlwind. A lot of things happened very quickly.”
Made In Chelsea star Jamie Laing has taken over from Jordan North as the new host at Radio 1 (Getty Images)
Jordan was axed from the airwaves after it was revealed he was moving to rival Capital Radio (Redferns)Fellow newbie Katie then joked: “It’s classic first-day vibes here. I’m locked out my account as I’ve forgotten my password. Jamie doesn’t have a BBC login account.” The new line-up comes as it was announced former Going Home host Jordan would no longer be presenting the show.
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And if the news Jordan was leaving Radio 1 came as a shock to listeners, it came as an even bigger one to him. The Mirror revealed how the DJ was “blindsided” by news of his departure, which was issued without his prior knowledge after BBC bosses learned of his new job.
A source said there were tensions running high for a few months surrounding Jordan’s departure after he let producers know he wanted to go. The source said: “Conversations were going back and forth between Jordan’s people and the top people at the BBC for months, and over time they deteriorated. Once he formally requested to leave, that was it – he was off air, immediately. It’s a shame it ended on such a bad note after 10 years.”
Speaking about his new role, Jordan, who will also host Capital’s Summertime Ball in June 2024, said: “I am beyond excited to be joining Global and to wake up the nation every morning on Capital - I can't wait to start working with the amazing team here and get stuck in, to create the most fun and entertaining breakfast show. Getting to host Capital Breakfast has always been a dream of mine and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I simply couldn’t turn down.”