Nick Grimshaw enjoyed a rapid rise to stardom six years ago when he took over BBC Radio 1’s flagship programme.
The presenter, known to fans as Grimmy, first joined the BBC in 2007, hosting BBC Two youth music show Sound in 2007 alongside DJ Annie Mac.
From there, he went on to host Radio 1’s Weekend Breakfast Show in 2008 until the following year, before moving to hosting the late-night slot on the station.
When he took over from long-running Breakfast Show host Chris Moyles at the age of 27 in 2012, it was deemed a controversial decision due to his lack of primetime presenting background.
He admitted at the time that he was “a little daunted” by the prospect of taking over such a popular programme, but he went on to rack up nearly six years as the Breakfast Show presenter.
Raised in Royton, Oldham, Grimshaw took his first steps as a broadcaster by getting involved with student radio while at Liverpool University.
There he interviewed DJ duo Queens of Noize who encouraged him to move to London after a post-university job as a record plugger went awry.
He made ends meet working as an intern at MTV, handing out flyers and DJ-ing with friends before being talent-spotted by Channel 4, and at the age of 22 he began working on pop shows, such as The Album Chart Show and Freshly Squeezed.
Grimshaw, who is known for rubbing shoulders with the likes of celebrity friends including Kate Moss, Harry Styles and Lily Allen, was also a co-presenter on the now-defunct T4 slot on Channel 4 from 2010 to 2012, and on E4’s Big Brother spin-off Big Mouth in 2008.
Following his first foray on the BBC with Mac, which included their joint Radio 1 programme, it was a short step to his takeover of the Breakfast Show, which pushed him into the upper echelons of music broadcasting.
As well as his slot on the early morning show, Grimshaw has hosted several BBC primetime music broadcasts, including Harry Styles at the BBC, BBC Music’s The Biggest Weekend and its coverage of Glastonbury.
In 2015, Grimshaw appeared as a judge on The X Factor along with Simon Cowell, Rita Ora and Cheryl, but he departed the role after just one year.
In May 2018, Grimshaw became the Radio 1 Breakfast Show’s second longest-running host in the programme’s history, taking over the previous record held by Tony Blackburn.
From autumn this year, he will host the Drivetime show on BBC Radio 1 in a job swap with Greg James, who will take over the Breakfast Show helm.