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

Greg James has revealed how Chris Moyles made fun of him for being a ‘posh student’ when he first started on BBC Radio 1.

Greg, 40, landed a BBC gig when he was just 21, but Chris, who was presenting the Radio 1 Breakfast show at the time, quickly got the hang of the eager young broadcaster.

Back then, Greg secured early breakfasts at BBC Radio 1 on an £80,000 salary in 2007 and was branded ‘posh’ by the outspoken Chris.

The Hertfordshire-born presenter, whose parents were teachers, admitted in his memoir Future Best that he was shocked when the Yorkshire DJ ‘cancelled’ him.

He recalled: ‘Imagine my surprise when I came to Radio 1 and got into the incredible daytime line-up to do the Early Breakfast Show every day before Chris Moyles, only for him to start calling me ‘the cool student’.

‘I really wasn’t expecting this. ‘I can’t help myself with the cricket thing, but it seems reductive to me to be called that.’

He wrote: ‘Moyles knew nothing about me. He had no idea what my upbringing was like.

‘He saw a nice, excited, slightly boring 21-year-old from the Home Counties who he thought was a lad with fantastic wavy independent hair and whom he was able to persuade a little bit as I was new and was very happy to be there.

‘But I also managed to land the best radio station in the world in a time of insane competition.’

Despite some initial conflict, Greg said the on-air discussion helped prepare him for the harsh realities of the publishing industry.

‘We had a pretty funny on-air relationship where we ended up annoying each other,’ he wrote.

‘I guess I was bog-standard middle class and that didn’t interest him. I had to prove myself and at the same time discover who I was. That’s why I’m grateful for the baptism of fire.’

Greg, who replaced Nick Grimshaw as Radio 1 Breakfast presenter in 2018, also paid tribute to former station star Scott Mills, describing him as one of his on-air heroes from his university years.

‘I would wake up extra early to listen to the latest episode of Scott’s show before getting ready,’ he wrote.

‘He was consistently funny, brave and very creative. I loved the games, their features and spontaneity. ‘It was very, very good.’

Scott was removed from the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show earlier this year following allegations about his personal behaviour.

Greg, 40, landed a BBC gig when he was just 21, but Chris, who was presenting Radio 1’s Breakfast show at the time, quickly got the hang of the eager young broadcaster.

The Hertfordshire-born presenter, whose parents were teachers, admitted in his memoir Future Best that he was shocked when the Yorkshire DJ ‘cancelled’ him.

It comes after Greg shocked audiences with an expletive-filled performance at a North London church last month.

The F-word was dropped multiple times when he took the stage with Rivals star Emily Atack in front of a crowd that included children.

During the live event, the pair took aim at Prince William, Ant and Dec and even former ITV golden girl Holly Willoughby.

One attendee told the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden: “It was shocking; no one expected them to swear like that, especially with children there.”

Greg, who was joined by the Prince of Wales on his Comic Relief charity bike ride last month, brought along the helmet worn by the royal.

He said: ‘I believe this is Prince William’s helmet. Do you want to touch the royal helmet? I was going to say pass this around as long as he comes back full of royal nits, but he’s as bald as a water fowl.’

The radio star added that she found traveling with William strange: ‘He was incredible, he was sitting there in the saddle, looking at my bum.’

But it was Emily’s slap to Holly that got the biggest reaction. The 36-year-old actress walked on stage and asked, ‘Where’s Greg?’ after taking to the stage, he went on to do a sarcastic impression of the former This Morning presenter.

Speaking of her pristine public image, Emily said: ‘If you’re in the public eye and have a platform, people want to hear from you.

‘There’s this ridiculous idea that as a celebrity you have to be spotless and do ‘Holly Willoughby.’

Greg, who is promoting his memoir Best for the Future at Union Chapel Islington, also took shots at ITV favorites Ant and December.

He said: ‘[They] I’m currently producing a podcast. ‘The TV thing is done, let’s do a podcast!’