As bequiffed host of comedy panel show Sweat the Small Stuff (Wednesdays, BBC3, 10pm), Radio 1 breakfast show host Nick Grimshaw riffs on the minor irritations of modern life with regulars Melvin O'Doom and Rochelle Humes, plus celebrity guests.
We caught up with Grimmy to talk turning 30, celebrity selfies and the north-south fashion divide...
You turned 30 this summer. How was that for you?
“I feel like maybe years ago it was a big deal, but nowadays 30 really is the new 20. You can mess around a lot more in your twenties today, whereas it used to be all about getting a job. I feel quite positive about it. My friend was 30 six months before me, and she was like: ‘It’s a good thing; it’s a decade to focus on yourself.’”
Are you where you wanted to be when you hit the big 3-0?
“All I wanted to do as a kid was present the Radio 1 breakfast show. Now I need to think of a new ambition.”
What's the worst thing about hosting the breakfast show?
“You have to blow dry your hair at 5.45am – which is annoying for the neighbours, I imagine. It’s really bad now that everything on the radio is filmed. I used to go in looking like s**t in my pajamas or tracksuit bottoms, and now people have hair and make up done for the radio. Also when I wake up all I want to eat is a cooked breakfast or a pastry. You don’t want to have porridge or a green juice or something at that time in the morning, but also you don’t want to work out after the show as when you get to the afternoon it’s nap time.”
Do you mind being recognised in public?
“Only when people say: ‘Where do I know you from?’ And you then have to sell yourself. It’s not as if you’ve gone out saying: ‘Recognise me!’ I don’t mind if anyone asks to take their picture with me. Is it still a selfie if there’s someone else in it? Mabye it should be called an ‘ussie’?”
You broadcast to a young audience. Is it tough being in your teens and twenties?
“It's a really tough age. The worst thing is that there’s a lot of pressure to know what you want to do. I always found it hard to care about my studies because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Then I found it hard to revise for maths and business studies when I decided I wanted to be on the radio.”
What's the hardest thing about being a northerner living down south?
“The lack of gravy at the chippie. You don’t want just dry chips – why don’t they have it? It’s delicious! I might start a campaign – get a load of northerners on a bus…”
Is social media a mixed blessing?
“The downside is that you know what your friends have done before you speak to them. Also I hate that sometimes I’ll take a picture of something to share on social media rather than just enjoying the moment. People who film gigs are often doing it just to show off. I hate it when people show me stuff like videos of cats on YouTube when I’m out. I don’t care!”
How hard is it keeping up with the latest sounds?
“If you’re off Radio 1 for a fortnight, you come back and you don’t know what the hell’s going on in music. But all my friends are into music or make music or DJ, so we share a lot of stuff. I used to listen to John Peel for new stuff, but it's so easy to listen to new music now. I also used to collect the NME – I’ve still got them all, and my copies of The Face.”
Would you consider hosting a TV show about fashion?
“I did a fashion TV show a few years ago called Style the Nation. People think people in the fashion industry are really stuck up, but in fact it’s great fun. I think there are more dickheads in the music industry. People make more of an effort now with the way they dress – especially up north. Scousers always make such an effort, whereas down here everyone likes to dress like tramps, don’t they?"
