Greg James has revealed his secret real name after 17 years of being in the limelight (Image: Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/Getty Images)Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeWhile Greg James is a household name from his years of experience on the radio, it has been revealed that his real moniker isn’t the one he’s known by, but is actually Greg Milward. The radio presenter was appearing on Kathy Burke’s Where There’s A Will, There’s A Wake podcast when he revealed that he has actually been going by his first and middle name for years. “I’m writing a book. It’s my first non-fiction adult book. It’s gonna come out next year, and I was writing a chapter on my name. It’s turned into a bit of a secret, but it’s not a secret at all. In that Greg James is not my full name,” he said.
Greg admitted he wanted to sound more appealing to Radio 1 with the name change when starting out
(Image: PA)
Explaining that he changed his name as a student to sound more appealing to radio bosses, Greg continued: “It’s like a headteacher’s name. Greg Milward. My dad was a headteacher and I was like, ‘well, it’s probably not that cool. I don’t really like it that much’. So I chose Greg James.” Greg shared that he wished he had ‘thought it through more’ when it came to the name change but it was ‘too late’ when he was scooped up by Radio 1 bosses and put into the radio listings as ‘Greg James’. Explaining that the name change ran away with him, Greg continued: “And then it just went on and on and on, and I can’t change it back now, I can’t do anything about it. I don’t mind it. It’s an okay radio name, but, I should have been more imaginative.” The revelation comes after Greg’s wife, Bella Mackie, was rushed to hospital for appendicitis and had to have emergency surgery last month. Sharing the news with fans via Instagram, Greg re-shared his wife’s post on the incident, which read: “In the morning I have to have surgery for appendicitis and I am terrified. If you’ve had this op and want to reassure me, that would be nice (only reassurance nothing else).”
Greg joked that he wished he had been more creative with his name
(Image: PA)
Making light of the situation, Greg joked: “Luckily for her she married an annoyingly upbeat man to keep her company (before I get chucked out) Back on the radio on Monday so I can be on call in the morning. Jordan’s gonna cover coz he’s nice”. He later joked that he may get “chucked out” as he posted a video of himself pretending to imitate the beeping of the hospital’s machines.Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnGreg James
