The hosts of Roman Kemp’s Capital radio breakfast show have said they hope the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby will grow up listening to their programme – just like their cousins.
Kemp, Vick Hope and and Sonny Jay – who on Monday morning presented the station’s first UK-wide broadcast – said they were still wowed by news they had listeners in the royal family.
The Duchess of Cambridge and her three children reportedly listen to Capital over breakfast each morning, just as Diana, Princess of Wales was said to do when William and Harry were toddlers.
Former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Hope, 29, said she “definitely” wanted Meghan’s child to become a fan, especially given they would be the royal family’s first mixed-race child.
Hope, herself mixed-race, said: “The baby might have an afro. Could you imagine if one of our royals, in line for the throne, has an afro? I’m so here for that.
“We’re a public service now, aren’t we?”
Meghan’s royal baby is due in late April or early May, with the gender of the child unconfirmed.
Now across the UK and tastier than ever, Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp 🥄 pic.twitter.com/Nfmr1KnyTY
— Capital (@CapitalOfficial) April 6, 2019
Jay, 25, admitted he had found it hard not to boast to friends about having royal listeners.
“Oh my god, I’ve been dining out on that,” he said.
“When I found that out, a level of respect from my mates just came in.
“They think I come to work and swan around but when I told them the royals listen they were like, ‘alright, fair enough’.”
He added: “I would want to name that baby, live on air”
Kemp added: “It’s all the stuff like that. It’s weird and wonderful and it shows how many people you are going out to, and who you are going out to when you see stories like that.”
The national show replaces Capital’s 14 regional morning programmes and features local news and travel information produced locally in each part of the UK.
Global, which owns the station, cut a slew of regional radio shows from Capital, Heart and Smooth stations to provide the centralised service broadcast from London.
Hope said there had been nerves but adjusting to being a national programme had come easier than expected.
She said: “First impressions count and there were lots of people who were listening to us for the first time. There were nerves around the fact this was the first time they’ve ever heard us.
“And we did prepare a lot for this week, and for next week especially, more so than we would usually.
“But we are putting the same show together and we want it to be as good as possible.”
Kemp, 26, also defended Capital’s reputation for delivering pop-oriented programming, arguing they served their age group and didn’t just follow what was on trend.
He said: “A lot of people carry this thing of Capital, that’s it’s super pop and it’s almost uncool to like it.
“When you break it down and look at the show we’ve got – it’s all just for our age.”
Their national debut featured a video interview with 17-year-old US singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, who on Friday became the youngest female solo artist to score a number one album with her debut record, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
House music DJ and producer Jax Jones also made an appearance and answered questions from the public while having his leg waxed.