Radio 2 star Gary Davies issues warning to reality TV stars becoming DJs

04 April 2024 , 12:24

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BBC Radio 2 DJ Gary Davies has had his say on reality TV stars becoming radio hosts

Radio 2 presenter Gary Davies has had his say on reality TV stars becoming DJs.

In recent weeks, radio stations have been switching up their presenting roster with many now hiring talent who started their careers in TV. Made In Chelsea star Jamie Laing landed a job at BBC Radio 1 after Jordan North was suddenly axed. He stepped in to replace Jordan as co-host on the station’s drive time slot, Going Home, with Vick Hope and new presenter Katie Thistleton.

However, was met with huge backlash as he slammed the “misconception that I just swanned in here”. This week, Love Island star Laura Anderson was revealed as the new Capital FM host taking over from Tallia Storm. Speaking to The Mirror, Gary, 66, gave a stern word of warning to reality stars taking on radio work.

He said: "Radio is not an easy thing to do because it's literally just you and your voice. I think listeners can tell if a DJ or presenter is uncomfortable. You can just hear it, you can hear it in their voice. It makes you as a listener probably feel uncomfortable, so it's quite a difficult art to do."

Gary added: "You get some people who just come into radio and they're absolute natural, like Rylan, he'd never done radio before. From his first time inside the studio, he was just brilliant because he's just him and he's he's totally relaxed with what he what he does." The Radio 2 star admitted it took him "a long time to become relaxed on radio" and "6 or 7 years" before he "felt really comfortable".

Radio 2 listening figures plunge as fans snub station after veteran DJs dumped

Gary has been on radio since the 80s (Deacon Communication)

Made In Chelsea star Jamie Laing has taken over from Jordan North as the new host at Radio 1 (Getty Images)

The 80s icon insisted: "I don't have a problem where DJs come from, whether they are a TV presenter, whether they're a reality star, you know, if they couldn't do it, then why not?" When asked if he thinks getting into radio work is harder now than in the 80s, he admitted: "I don't know because I haven't tried to get into radio for many years, but I remember when I was starting, it was really difficult."

Gary shared how he "had two years of constant rejection from every single radio station in the country". He said: "No one wanted to hire me, it didn't matter what I did. I used to make demo tapes, and I used to send them around to all the stations, and eventually, after two years of knocking on the door I got a break with Piccadilly Radio in Manchester.

"I worked for them for three years before I then eventually joined Radio One. But it was very tough and at one stage I was on the point of giving up." Gary told his dad he couldn't keep facing rejection and recalled: "My dad turned around to me and said 'well, if you give up, you're never going to get it and clearly you don't want it enough'. I went, 'but I do want it' and he said, 'well keep going' and I did. That's how I got the job at Piccadilly Radio."

He said: "The only thing that I would say is that there are a lot more radio stations now than there were back then, so there's a lot more potential to find work in radio. There are lots of different ways of getting into radio, you just got to be clever enough to figure it out."

Blackpool Tower Live Weekender runs 24^th-26^th May featuring BBC Radio 2 Sound Of The 80s Live with Gary Davies, Jo Whiley’s 90s Anthems and The Brand New Heavies. Tickets available at

Mia O'Hare