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ARIELLE Free jets to exotic locations to DJ when not hosting Radio 1’s Early Breakfast show. But the Scots presenter has revealed her perfect holiday destination is the Glasgow schemes of Drumchapel, Knightswood and Temple.
Former ballerina Arielle, 33, learned to dance at Knightswood Secondary school and was overcome with nostalgia when she enjoyed a summer break with her boyfriend George.
And she also brought him up to speed on the gang culture in the city.
Arielle, who is currently DJing in Ibiza with David Guetta, said: “I drove up when everything reopened in July to see my wee sister who works in the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Glasgow during the pandemic. It was a road trip with George. I took him round Drumchapel, Knightswood and Temple.
“We went to Drumchapel for our holidays and saw all the sights. For me it was a real trip down memory lane.
“I told George all about the Young Knightswood Fleeto, the Temple Scurvy and the Yoker Langy.
“I wasn’t part of any of that but I went out with a boy who was a member of the Yoker Langy.
“I was like, ‘This is where I went to high school, this is where I used to get the 44 bus up the road.’”
Arielle also revealed her “old-fashioned courtship” with George that led to love.
She said: “George is from down south and we met a couple of years ago when I was DJing for Craig David in Ibiza but we were never in London at the same time. He does events and travels a lot and I work weird hours during the week and DJ weekends. Then we started courting during lockdown. It was really romantic dating because all we could do was go for walks and cycles. Nothing was open and it was like an old-school romance.
“We’d meet up, have our walk, have a flask of coffee and walk along by the canal. I kind of miss that.
“We’ve managed to make it last out of lockdown so far.”
Arielle’s career is flying after she announced last month she’d been offered a permanent slot as early breakfast presenter on BBC Radio 1 weekends. Her successful Love Island: The Morning After podcast, which she co-hosted with ex-Islander Kem Cetinay, ranked as one of iTunes’ top 100 shows this year.
Harry Potter fans may remember her as one of the Beauxbatons dancers in 2005 boy wizard flick The Goblet of Fire.
Currently, the red-head is on the airwaves from 4am until 7am weekdays come rain or shine. And she’s developed a coping mechanism.
She said: “I am the queen of disco naps. I never used to be able to nap in the day but now I can put my head down and get a solid 45 minutes.
“During the week I don’t drink because I worry I’ll sleep through the alarm.I get exercise, go to bed early and I’ve got the weekend to do gigs.”
And she’s revealed she has another job on top of her DJing and podcasting.
Previously a foot model, Arielle also runs an agency for companies needing feet of a certain look, shape and size.
She said: “When I was dancing I got a casting call from Top Shop to have my feet measured. They were looking
for size four because all the samples are that size.
“My feet were perfect. They took pictures, sent them to suppliers and I started fitting for ASOS, Office shoes, LK Bennett, Kurt Geiger. Now I have my own agency called FAFF, Fitness and Fancy Free. I do casting calls. It’s very weird asking people to come to an address to get their feet measured when you’ve never met them before.
“Girls have to be size four and guys are size eight. My boyfriend is desperate to try. He’s like, ‘My feet are beautiful. I can squeeze in’ and I have to tell him the whole point is to have feet the right size.” rielle is also helping to launch a new OVO Bikes’ campaign which allows locals to explore Glasgow with free bike hires every Friday. And it helped her to see more of her home city than ever before.
She said: “We cycled around. What I loved about OVO is I went to places I’d never been before. We went around this green route map they have created. It can be daunting getting on a bike if you haven’t cycled around the city, but there are cycle avenues everywhere now. It makes such a difference. You just feel so safe cycling.
“You can get on a bike as many times as you want on Fridays so it’s a beautiful way to see your friends. I really enjoyed the day we had. I stood outside
AKelvingrove museum in the sunshine thinking how lovely Glasgow is.” Arielle is bringing George back to Scotland in October for a camping holiday on the banks of Loch Fyne. She said: “I’d like him to see more. We are going to have a wee holiday and a family reunion at halfterm with my little niece Poppy and my mum and everyone.” But unlike many Scots she has no fear of being attacked by midges after being given a foolproof deterrent by her granny. She said: “It could be risky because I don’t know what the weather will be like. Hopefully the tent will still be standing at the end. My granny told me to always eat a slice of toast with Marmite because the midges don’t touch you because they hate Marmite. I’ll be making sure I have mine on the way to Loch Fyne.” ●Arielle has teamed up with OVO Energy to launch OVO Bikes in Glasgow and Cardiff. Free Ride Fridays give cyclists up to 30 minutes free. Cyclists can also pedal along the OVO Bikes Green Route spanning the cities’ top sustainable businesses. The offer runs until December 31. Go to ovoenergy.com/ovobikes
It was because romantic do all we could was go for walks ARIELLE ON DATING DURING LOCKDOWN