Greg James: "2017 has been exhausting but weirdly life-changing"
It has been a busy year for . Not only has been busy presenting his Radio 1 show, he's also kept himself occupied reviving music television.
He's had a busy year and says that he, understandably, is "exhausted." But before he headed off to hibernate over Christmas, he shared his standout moments of 2017. Here's what happened for Greg this year.
Who have been the standout guests you鈥檝e had on your show in 2017?
"I got to meet The Rock finally, made a little documentary with him in Miami. The Royals, Kat & Alfie - it's been really varied.
"We've had everyone from Lorde to Joe Lycett to Dave Grohl, Niall Horan, Kate Winslet, Michael Fassbender - what a year!
Warning: Contains Strong Language and flashing images
"That's the beauty of Radio 1, you can contextualise anything and make it interesting to an audience, so even if our younger listeners hadn't heard much Oasis or didn't know the cultural significance of Liam Gallagher, they may have been introduced to him in a different way."
"We've played a few of his records but culturally he became the man of the year almost, everyone wanted to hear what he had to say.
"Radio 1 is so much to do with the zeitgeist and we should be reflecting those things, setting the agenda and saying 'this guy is entertaining, so regardless of who's listening to his music, we should get him on.'
"Then he had a No.1 album anyway, so he was relevant."
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Catch up with a week of surprises for some very special listeners.
How bizarre was it to have the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in to count down the chart?
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge read the Official Chart Top Ten
Greg had some very special co-presenters for the Official Chart this afternoon.
"It was terrifying. They came on and did the official chart with me, we didn't have any time to rehearse, we just did it. William was really up for it while Kate was a bit more reserved but they were great fun.
"He egged her on a bit, because he's a Radio 1 listener. He found it exciting to do the chart."
You were part of Radio 1's My Mind & Me campaign and the Teen Awards. How does it feel when you use your platform to do more than just entertain people?
Greg and Chris talk about beer bellies, big arms and body insecurities
Greg James and Chris Stark discuss the pressures of being a boy.
"My Mind & Me is the best thing we've ever done. It's just opened up the conversation with our listeners, they've responded really well to it. The Teen Hero Awards are exactly the same.
Even though you might not find the instant fix to this problem, it's great to share it and talk about problems with other peopleGreg James
"Your average day is part hilarious, part boring, part sad, part whatever. It's important we don't shy away from those things, you shouldn't just be funny the whole time in the same way you shouldn't just be serious. It reflects what a human is really like. It's not that difficult to one minute be sad about something and the next to be laughing about something else.
"We also do really interesting documentaries, we do news really well. We’ve earned listeners’ trust so why shouldn't you just go with us when we talk about mental health issues.
"And you don't have to reach conclusions, it's not as easy as that. That was the message I had from my show, even though you might not find the instant fix to this problem, it's great to share it and talk about problems with other people."
How has it been helping make Sounds Like Friday Night such a success?
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"It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, just because there were a lot of expectations around it from the 大象传媒. We had moments where it felt like an impossible ask.
We had moments where it felt like an impossible askGreg James
"But it got really good viewing figures, people seemed to like it, I think it got better throughout the series and we're going to come back in April and do it all again. With those sorts of shows, you learn so much so quickly. The first show was completely different to the last.
"It was impossible, in a way, to launch a show that was in the slot A Question of Sport was in the week before. That's quite a hard thing for the audience to get their heads around. We feel quite proud of it, although I’m absolutely exhausted."
We're exhausted on your behalf TBH, Greg. Now go forth and enjoy the festivities!
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