AFTER winning the nation’s hearts on the last series of I’m A Celeb, it was only a matter of time before Jordan North hit the big time.
And seven months on, he has — having been named successor to Nick Grimshaw as the host of Radio 1’s Drivetime, alongside Vick Hope.
But Jordan, who has worked for the station since 2014, has admitted the best part about the promotion is finally being able to work without a hangover — after a decade of being on air all weekend.
In an exclusive interview, Jordan, who will take up his new role in September, said: “I do have a reputation for going out. Since I left university ten years ago I’ve worked every single weekend in my radio jobs.
“I am so happy now that I get my Friday and Saturday nights back and I can go out. I don’t have to worry about going to bed really early.
“I can get up, go to the gym and go to work at 12. It’s the dream.”
The proud Northerner and Burnley fan has slogged his way to the top, starting off in local radio before landing a job at the Beeb.
And while his success is only increasing, Jordan said his mum Wendy — a regular Radio 1 contributor — and dad Graham keep him grounded.
He added: “I rang Mum and Dad five minutes before Nick announced it on air. They had me on loudspeaker in some Spanish shop. My mum was screaming and my dad was like, ‘OK, well I’ll ring you later then, pal’. And that was it.
“They are super-excited though. My dad sent me a quite soppy message later on and at the end he said, ‘You’re a top bloke and a top son’, and I nearly cried.” Nick revealed on air last Wednesday that he was leaving Radio 1 after 14 years.
Jordan said his mum would now want a new bathroom after he bought his parents their dream kitchen following his runner-up finish on I’m A Celeb.
But Wendy has since toned down her hopes. Jordan said: “She texted me and said, ‘You don’t have to get me a new bathroom, but we would like a new Jacuzzi’.”
Later this year, Jordan, who has teamed up with Cadbury for its Inventor bars promotion, will be back on telly after landing an ITV travel show with his TV jungle campmate Beverley Callard.
And it’s a job he is eager to do. He said: “I’ve dipped my toe into the telly. I’ve thought, ‘Well, it’s all right, this’.
“In telly they send you a car — not at the Beeb. You’ll see me on the bus. I’m joking — I don’t mind really.
“As long as I am on Radio 1 every day, playing amazing tunes and making people laugh, I will be happy.”
Jordan has partnered with Cadbury experts, sharing their chocolate-tasting skills with the nation, encouraging fans to Be The Judge of this year’s Inventor bars.
Jordan was speaking as part of his partnership with Cadbury’s, who want fans to get involved and Be The Judge of this year’s Inventor Bars.
Three new bars are in with the chance of being put into the Cadbury’s mainstream from three inventors.
Roxy’s Cadbury Dairy Milk with Fizzing Cherry, Josh’s Cadbury Dairy Milk with Banoffee Nut Crumble and Sophie’s Cadbury Dairy Milk No Frownie Brownie.
Jordan was approached by Cadbury’s after becoming famed online for judging his listener’s “picky teas”.
He said: “The guys at Cadburys knew I liked rating picky teas and they’ve taken it up a level.
“It’s all fun, this is the whole idea, but the winning bar will be added to the Cadbury’s family.
“There are three really good flavours there.
“My advice is to taste one, then have some water to cleanse your palette, then taste another and repeat. “I do have a favourite but it’s not fair for me to say as head judge.
“I’m known as the Cadbury man around work and with my mates, I take it to their houses and tell them to go online and vote.”
Jordan North has partnered with Cadbury experts, sharing their chocolate tasting skills with the nation, encouraging fans to Be The Judge of this year’s Inventor bars.
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Meg: Fox you
MEGAN Fox has hit back at critics of her dating a younger man.
The actress, who has been seeing rapper Machine Gun Kelly since May last year, said: “He’s 31 and I’m 35. Granted, he’s lived like he’s 19 his whole life, but he isn’t 19. No one would blink twice if George Clooney was dating someone four years younger.
“Four years? Go f*** yourself. We would have been in high school together.
“That’s so ridiculous that women are treated that way.”
Speaking about their relationship, Kelly then gushed to InStyle magazine: “I just want people to understand this is real.
“I don’t think people get the opportunity to believe in real, great love.
“And that’s what we have together.”
GEMMA Collins wants to get pregnant this summer after reuniting with her ex-fiancé Rami Hawash.
The reality star said: “I’ve got a lovely partner now and I’m very happy. I never saw that coming. The summer of love is only just beginning. I’m definitely having a summer of love, so while I go on a mini-break, who knows, I could come back pregnant.”
That might not be the only change in her life, as just six months after dropping £1.3million on her “dream house” in Essex, she’s already itching for a move. Speaking on her BBC Sounds podcast, she said: “I’ve been going to London for years. I know London like the back of my hand.
“I actually want to move to London, I want to move to the Knightsbridge area.
“I love Essex, but I’m in London so much now that it feels more like home to me.”
Maura’s Gio amora
MAURA Higgins and Giovanni Pernice have been spotted together in public for the first time since they started dating.
The Love Island beauty and the Strictly dance pro had been coy about their romance, although pictures on their social media hinted at it.
But my exclusive snap of them on a low-key day out in Essex shows they couldn’t be closer. They make a lovely couple.
SINGERS Becky Hill, Jake Bugg and Jack Garratt are leading the line-up of artists providing live music at the new Hundred cricket contest.
The competition, from July 21 to August 21, will see some of the world’s best cricketers play a fast-paced version of the game.
Jack, who is at the first match at the Oval, said: “I’m thrilled to be performing on such a memorable occasion – see you there!”
I love cricket, so yes, you will.
Nina gets into the swing of Fling
NINA Nesbitt strikes a bootyful pose in a pair of arty platforms sat on a toadstool to tease her single Summer Fling, out today.
And in an exclusive chat, she revealed how she snubbed her fellow Scot Lewis Capaldi before he hit the big time.
The singer-songwriter held a competition in 2012 to find someone to support her on tour.
Years later the Someone You Loved star confronted her about why he wasn’t picked. She said: “Randomly, Lewis entered a fan competition to support me on tour and he sent me a video, but apparently I didn’t pick him.
“I don’t remember seeing it. I don’t know why I wouldn’t have picked his voice. Apparently I pied him for the tour.
“Years later we wrote a song that got sung by someone on the Italian X Factor, randomly, and then I went on tour with him. He’s such a laugh.”
Summer Fling is the first single to be taken from her as-yet-untitled third album, and the sky was the limit when it came to the video – as she hangs from the ceiling.
Nina performs a routine on an aerial ring in the clip but was feeling the effects after shooting it.
She said: “I used to be a rhythmic gymnast for Scotland when I was 13.
“I loved competing and loved gymnastics but then I found boys and alcohol and was like, ‘I don’t want to do gymnastics any more, I want to go to house parties at the weekend.’
“I sat on the sofa for a year and was like, I need to do something to get my joints moving.
“I trained for eight weeks, got myself down in the splits again – no idea how – and shot the video.
“I honestly felt like I’d been hit by a truck the next day. It was like the worst hangover I’ve ever had, without being hung over.”
She won’t be repeating that in a hurry.
Dua is ready to role
DUA Lipa has landed her debut movie role less than a fortnight after I told how she was eyeing a move into acting.
The Levitating singer has joined an all-star cast for a brand new spy franchise and will start shooting the film in Europe next month.
The big-budget action movie, called Argylle, will see her appear alongside Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’hara and Samuel L Jackson.
And not only will she show off her acting chops for the first time, she will provide original music for it.
The flick is based on the spy novel Argylle, about “the world’s greatest spy” from author Ellie Conway, which is set to be published next year.
And it will be a big earner for Dua, as it is the first of three films in the franchise.
Rita’s £17.7m riches
IF you thought she was sitting pretty just as she is, wait until you hear how much cash Rita Ora has in the bank.
The pop star is now perched atop a huge £17.7million fortune after her popularity continued to soar.
It’s not surprising the singer, who last week released single You For Me with Sigala, has so much tucked away.
Over the past few years Rita has cemented herself as a household name, with a judging role on ITV hit The Masked Singer and lucrative advertising deals with brands including Rimmel and Adidas.
And she’s recently gone global after signing as a coach on telly series The Voice in Australia.
A source said: “Rita’s got £6.6m in her two companies, Ora Live and Ora Multi Services, and £11.1m tied up in property.
“She is a shrewd businesswoman and has invested wisely over the years.”
Her seemingly never-ending holiday in Los Angeles, where she has been for the past month, will be costing her a pretty penny though.
WORLD-famous music mag Rolling Stone is launching a UK edition later this year – more than 50 years after it was founded in the US.
The team behind LGBT magazine Attitude will publish the new British title and website, which will be accompanied by a series of live events from next spring.
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Halsey’s big reveal
IT looks like Halsey won’t be taking much maternity leave – she’s gearing up to release a new album just weeks after her due date.
The heavily pregnant US singer posted the cover art for her fourth album I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power. Some fans thought the photo, which sees her with a breast exposed and holding a baby, meant she had given birth but it is believed she has a few weeks left.
Writing about the record, which will be out on August 27 – seven months after she announced her pregnancy with screenwriter boyfriend Alev Aydin – she said: “This album is a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth.”
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