Conceived at Glasto so music’s in my genes
SHE has just started as the host of Radio 1’s Early Breakfast show.
But energy, good humour and the ability to wake up at 3am are not the only qualities Scots DJ Arielle Free brings to the role.
She believes music is in her genes – because she was conceived in a tent at the Glastonbury Festival.
Her mother Jaqi revealed live on air that it happened during a rainy Joe Cocker set in 1987 – adding that she had kept her socks and Doc Marten boots on to keep warm. Ms Free has even put this on her CV, saying: ‘Something in that story has led me down this path.’
The 32-year-old, from Glasgow, took over last month on the early morning programme, where heavyweights such as Greg James and Scott Mills made their names.
The trained ballerina said: ‘It’s lovely to be a voice among everything that is going on and maybe just put a smile on somebody’s face in the morning.’
Despite the early starts, Ms Free has admitted she is a ‘night bunny’, adding: ‘I’m the person that would stay up until two in the morning – so I’m lucky that I love my job.’
Ms Free now hosts the show four days a week, from 4am to 7am, after impressing BBC bosses since joining the Weekend Early Breakfast programme in 2019.
The DJ said radio was like her ‘best pal’ while growing up. Before joining the BBC she attended the Dance School of Scotland in Glasgow and studied drama and dance at college, with a stint dancing on Top of the Pops for artists including Fatboy Slim and Kanye West.
She also appeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and presented the children’s TV show Pop Girl on Sky.
She added that it was ‘no secret’ that she had always wanted to work at Radio 1.