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Jordan North talks his career dream and why he thinks he doesn't have the "best voice" for radio like Greg James
The DJ rejected barracks and bricklaying to follow his dream – and kept his accent.
Lia Toby/Billboard via Getty Images
- Gareth McLean
Published: Monday, 18 May 2026 at 5:00 pm
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This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
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Jordan North discusses his journey into radio, explains his motivation for taking part in Soccer Aid and reveals why he didn't follow in his father's footsteps.
What’s the view from your sofa?
Most of the furniture in my house is pointed towards a television and I’ve got a telly in every room – in the living room, kitchen, in my bedroom and even in the spare room. But I’ve got books on shelves as well – and candles.
What do you watch on your many tellies?
I do love a good documentary, but then I easily fall back into comfort TV – Friends, Modern Family, The Office or The Royle Family, which I absolutely love. There’s nothing I like more than getting in from work, not having any plans and just having me tea, followed by a couple of squares of chocolate and an Aero yogurt, getting my comfies on and watching telly.
How does presenting the Capital breakfast show affect your TV viewing?
I get up at 4.20am every day – no earlier, no later – and I get ready for bed around 8.30pm to be in bed for nine, so I usually start watching TV about 7pm. I’ll watch one episode of a drama series and then a quick half-hour of Friends. I’ve had to make adjustments to my life, but I’ve always wanted to do a big national breakfast show, so I’m living the dream. I just can’t stay up binge-watching telly until midnight. I have to be really strict.
What happens when you’re not?
I can do the show on six hours’ sleep. Anything less and come 9am, I’m struggling to string a sentence together – and I’m on-air until 10am. You definitely can’t do it on a hangover. I learnt that the hard way. It’s a mistake you only make once. Maybe twice.
Jordan North. Kate Green/Getty Images for SXSW London
When did you first become attuned to radio?
My dad was in the Army so we moved around every couple of years. To get an idea of what wherever we were moving to was like, I’d tune in to the local radio, especially its breakfast shows. The presenters, the callers, the music they played, the quizzes they did: all would give a sense of a place. I’ve been obsessed ever since.
What makes yours a great voice for radio?
I genuinely don’t think I’ve got the best voice for it. It’s not a neutral, southern voice and it’s not everybody’s cup of tea – which I get. I know that if you flick around other radio stations, especially in the morning, there are many other voices that are a lot easier to listen to. When I first started in radio, I was told to put on a radio voice and I used to do it, but I always felt like a knob. So now, it’s my voice and my [northern] accent and it is distinctive, but it’s not nice and neutral like [Radio 1 Breakfast host] Greg James’s.
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What was your plan B if radio didn’t work out?
Bricklaying. But when I was choosing my GCSEs, my English teacher told me that she was teaching a media studies course the following year and she thought I’d be really good at it. So I did it. It’s just as well because the bricklaying didn’t work out. I got sacked.
You never thought about joining the Army?
Oh God, no. My dad said he knew that, unlike my brothers, I was never going to join the Army when he picked me up from after-school drama.
You’re taking part in Soccer Aid this year – what does that mean to you?
It’s something that I’ve watched since I was a kid and I’ve been to see it at Old Trafford twice with my mates. So to be playing on the pitch with the likes of Wayne Rooney is a bit mad, and I’m very nervous about it and hope I’m not rubbish.
Any ambitions still unfulfilled?
I’d love to host the Brit Awards.
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Authors
Gareth McLean
Gareth McLean has been writing about television for nearly 30 years. As a critic, he's reviewed thousands of programmes. As a feature writer, he's interviewed hundreds of people, from Liza Minnelli to Jimmy Savile. He has also written for TV.
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