“Good morning, everybody! We’ve returned from a muddy field and everything is fine in the UK, right?” In a week when feelgood radio is thin on the ground, Nick Grimshaw’s return to the Radio 1 Breakfast Show after Glastonbury is a welcome one.
Bubbling with friendliness, Grimshaw’s show borrows the best traits of his predecessors and ignores the worst. He has the air of someone who struggles with the concept of an early night, echoing what made Zoë Ball and Sara Cox’s shows so human. There’s self-effacing chat and plenty of music, but never a Chris Moyles-like rant. Most of all, Grimshaw is himself.
His weapons are low-key one-liners that give a nod to the news, a refusal to bark in your face at 6.30am, and Justin Timberlake’s ridiculously optimistic anthem Can’t Stop the Feeling. “It’s gonna be, like, legit busy in the Job Centre today,” says Grimmy, covering England’s exit from Euro 16 and the fallout from the referendum in one shot.
“It puts your post-Glastonbury anxiety into perspective,” he sighs. Even if the majority of his five million listeners weren’t standing in a muddy field waving their wristbands to Coldplay, it doesn’t matter. Big brother Grimmy is here to share his stories without annoying mum and dad on their drive to work.
With so much radio spoonfed and split into genres, a breakfast show on which you can hear Biffy Clyro, Fifth Harmony and Skepta is one to cherish. The pace is just right, with a likable ramble about watching the football and a few shout-outs to early birds before 7am, then the big guns are brought out to hit rush hour at eight.
Grimshaw’s treatment of his guests may seem effortless, but therein lies his flair. He is no interrupter and he doesn’t have to try too hard to build up a rapport. Despite Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders having answered just about every question going on the Ab Fab promotional trail, Grimshaw sits back and lets a 14-year-old caller ask them if they did drama A-level. Natural chatterer Rylan Clark-Neal gives a profound snapshot of the celebrity world as he touts his autobiography: “If you can’t read, or you don’t want to read the book, you could read the book through the pictures.” Pop, froth and a good cheering-up: Grimmy’s breakfast show has all the ingredients Radio 1 needs in the morning.
