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Roman Kemp reaches out to Chris Moyles and Greg James for support during lockdown

Roman Kemp has reached out to fellow DJs Greg James and Chris Moyles for support during lockdown
Roman Kemp has reached out to fellow DJs Greg James and Chris Moyles for support during lockdown (Photo: Getty Images)

While he acknowledges his job as presenter of the Capital Radio Breakfast Show isn’t saving lives, Roman Kemp says he still feels a great responsibility to get his job right.

Speaking on White Wine Question Time, the I’m A Celebrity star said he was scared, because he feels like entertaining and informing the nation is such an important job right now.

He said: “It's really scary to be 27 and feel like I've got to [...] tell everyone what's going on with the country and try to make everyone feel better. That feels like a lot to take on my shoulders.”

READ MORE: Capital FM DJ's surprising birth story revealed by dad

Roman, who won Radio Programme of the Year at the TRIC Awards in March, said that he’s aware “how that weight is such insignificance” compared to young doctors saving lives every day, but he also feels a weigh of responsibility in his job.

“Our job in entertainment is to make people feel better and give them some escapism,” he told podcast host Kate Thornton.

“I was meant to have time off work, but I've cancelled that because I feel like this is an important time, and people will rely on us to kind of help move their day a little bit.”

Roman, son of Spandau Ballet star Martin Kemp and Wham! backing singer Shirlie, said the prospect of mucking it all up had him reaching out to fellow breakfast show presenter Chris Moyles for advice.

READ MORE: This unsung antidote to lockdown blues could help your kids keep calm

Chris, 46, who presents the breakfast show on Radio X, told him it’s important to just keep talking.

“I spoke to Chris Moyles about it today and spoke to him about what we can do,” Roman revealed.

“And, he was saying to me, ‘Mate, you know you can really, really help people here, and so if you ever feel like you don't know if you're doing the right things… it's all about the talking.’”

Chris isn’t the only breakfast show host that Roman has reached out to: just before lockdown, he met up with Radio 1’s breakfast DJ, Greg James for a coffee and a chat, and now keeps in touch regularly via text.

Radio 1 DJ Greg James has been texting with Roman Kemp daily throughout the crisis (Photo: Getty Images)
Radio 1 DJ Greg James has been texting with Roman Kemp daily throughout the crisis (Photo: Getty Images)

“I'm texting Greg James every other day about how he's getting on,” he explained to Kate.

“We had a chat and we had a coffee, and then all of a sudden we were in this situation. And it's nice to be able to reach out to people and say, ‘Hey man, how are you getting on?’ You both can say about how kind of scary this is.”

READ MORE: Greg James: ‘I eat cheese in the bath to relax’

Roman says the one good thing that has come from this pandemic is that everyone in the entertainment industry is now concentrating on just trying to make the nation feel better.

“You know, we're just trying to get by,” he admitted. “I think that’s what we're all trying to do. I don't think anyone's trying to think about ratings, and that's what’s really nice about it. No one is thinking about that; everyone is just thinking about ‘how do we make someone feel better’?”

Hear Roman Kemp talk more about life during lockdown, why he’s rating Piers Morgan and his magical childhood moment on the latest episode of White Wine Question Time. Listen now on iTunes and Spotify.