Jamie Laing has said being seen as “not just a posh idiot” is the reason he has been given a job on BBC Radio 1.
The former Made In Chelsea star, who has turned into a podcaster, will replace Jordan North on the drivetime show from Monday.
North, who began on Radio 1 around a decade ago, departed the 3.30pm to 6pm Monday to Thursday slot last month.
Laing, 35, told the Sunday Times it is a “misconception that I just swanned in here”.
He added: “I’ve been trying to get this job for eight years, constantly grinding, constantly asking to do little slots.
“No one is given a job here because their mum or dad helped them into it. You have to earn your colours.”
Laing has been presenting podcasts NewlyWeds, with his wife Sophie Habboo, and the BBC’s 6 Degrees From Jamie And Spencer, with Spencer Matthews.
Matthews and Habboo also rose to fame on E4 reality show Made In Chelsea, which follows prosperous young people in west London.
Laing is a descendant of Sir Alexander Grant, 1st Baronet, the creator of the McVitie’s digestive biscuit.
“I suppose what people see now is that I’m maybe not just a posh idiot,” he also told the newspaper. “After years of doing podcasting, the audience went, ‘Oh, hang on, we trust this person’.”
To people who think he will not last the year on Radio 1, the Oxford-born star said: “When you have doubters, that honestly lights a flame within me.
“If the hurdle I have to cross is that some people think I’m going to leave within a year, then great.”
He has also made appearances on Through The Keyhole, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Would I Lie To You? and Celebrity Juice.
North, from York, co-hosted Radio 1’s Going Home with Vick Hope from 2021 and was a runner-up on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
The 34-year-old was announced as a presenter of Capital Breakfast last month, taking over from Roman Kemp, and is also set to appear on the panel of Celebrity Big Brother: Late & Live along with Dancing On Ice judge Oti Mabuse and actor Layton Williams.
Manchester-born Radio 1 presenter Katie Thistleton will join Laing while Hope continues in her role for Going Home With Vick, Katie And Jamie.
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