Aircheck Tracker
Profile: Jezza: Born in 1965 as Jeremy Kyle, his first radio memory was what he describes as '...an indiscreet moment with a girl in Lyme Regis, next to the Radio 1 Roadshow stage...' This was in 1980. As far as his career has gone so far, he was actually a recruitment manager, and sold radio advertising before joining Kent's Invicta FM in 1996 to present an evening show. After a short time at Orchard FM, 1997 saw a move to the Midlands, Birmingham to be precise, where he won a Sony Award for the Best Evening Show 'Late And Live' at 96.4FM BRMB, Sunday to Friday from 10:00pm-1:00am. He also earned a nomination for the CRCA's Presenter of the Year Awards in 2000. The 'Confessions' programme that he now been so well known for presenting was carried when he moved to the Century network. He stayed with the them for a short time, before moving to Virgin, taking the 'Confessions' format with him. Jezza made the move from Monday 1st July 2002 firstly from 8:00pm-Midnight, and latterly from 9:00pm-1:00am. At the time, he said that he: '...never planned a radio career, so to be on national radio doing this show after only six years in broadcasting was fantastic.'. Apart from the show start time and duration, other changes to the show included a change of co-host, and movement of the show from it's initial Monday to Friday slot to a Sunday to Thursday.
His show isn't just an excuse for listening to people's troubles for the sake of it. A production team, backed up by the resources of support groups, offer external help and support where required. Jezza aims never to judge or patronise callers to the show - instead offering non-biased advice, tthe chance to get things of the caller's chest as well as putting those out of line rightly and publicly in their place.
The beginning of June 2004 saw a sudden disappearance of Jezza from the Virgin airwaves with the last show being at the end of May. There was no announcement made by Virgin Radio. Rumour mills immediately went into action. Amongst the various rumours, it was suggested he was axed due to the unknown content of a 31st May 2004 show telephone call, others suggest he went as part of a summer clearout. Others to leave the station included Captain America (Nick Stewart) services no longer required in line with the station's return to 'core programming', Daryl Denham (contract not renewed) , A new show with Leona Graham was advertised shortly afterwards on the station's website. There was obviously some confusion and perhaps a late decision at the station - with Russ Williams, Neil Francis & Kelly all heard saying in their Wednesday 2nd June shows that "Jezza is back tonight from 10 with more of your Confessions". So, is this a case of leaving by mutual agreement? RAJAR reports from the time are alleged to have shown a loss of 300,000 for Jezza's show, along with a station drop of around 90,000.
After receiving many irate messages of complaint about the
sudden departure of Jezza, Virgin Radio made this announcement: 'Jezza’s
Virgin Confessions is no longer on Virgin Radio. After 8 years Jezza felt it was
time to take a break from daily shows in order to recharge his batteries and
look forward to his new writing and television opportunities. Jezza is a
unique talent who is head and shoulders above all other DJs in his field and we
wish him all the best with the future.
Leona Graham is now presenting The Late Show. Leona is one of Virgin Radio's
longest-serving and best-loved presenters, and we're delighted to be able to
give her a permanent weekday show on the station. She'll be concentrating on
playing more of today's best music and classic tracks.'
See our Whereabouts section below for the latest.
Jezza lives in the Berkshire countryside with wife Carla. Carla married a complete stranger - Greg Cordell, as part of an on-air competition on BRMB and shared £50.000 - the wedding was held just minutes after the couple first met. The marriage lasted only three months - Carla being comforted during the difficult times by Jezza himself, then station jock, and romance blossomed between them.
He also has a teenage daughter from his first marriage, a second child came into the world early in 2004. He used to play golf for Berkshire - his handicap was four but it is belieeved to vary from game to game nowadays.
Whereabouts: In July 2004, Capital Radio announced it had signed Jezza to present the 'Capital Confessions' show on London's 95.8 Capital FM from 5th September 2004. The new programme, part of Capital Radio's "modern radio for modern London" policy, was introduced by the station's Managing Director Keith Pringle, and will air from Sunday to Thursday 22:00 - 01:00 including live calls on relationship issues of all kinds.