James Barr (presenter)

James Barr
NationalityBritish
Occupations
Employers
Known for

James Barr is British radio DJ, TV presenter, podcaster and comedian, who presents the podcast A Gay and a Non-Gay with Dan Hudson. Barr is an openly gay man and advocate for LGBT+ and mental health issues.

He has toured the UK with his comedy show Thirst Trap, as well as presented on MTV, and also hosts The Breakfast Show on Hits Radio with Fleur East and Matt Haslam.

Barr has also written columns for Attitude magazine, as well as covered conversion therapy for the BBC, and hosted live coverage from the Isle of Wight Festival, Brighton Pride and Manchester Pride. He is a patron of several LGBT+ charities, including Student Pride.

Career

Early work as a presenter

In 2017, Barr hosted the 2017 Student Pride Festival in London, alongside his role as a presenter on Heat Radio.[1] Across his roles as a presenter on MTV, ambassador for Student Pride, A Gay and a NonGay podcast, and columnist for Attitude magazine, Barr has interviewed celebrities including Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Taylor Lautner, Chloe Grace Moretz, Troye Sivan, DNCE and Charli XCX, amongst others.[2] He has also appeared as a panellist on Eurovision: You Decide and BBC Three docu-series I'm Coming Out.[3] Barr and Kristen Meinzer briefly hosted a podcast called When Megan Met Harry: A Royal Wedding Cast, which covers the engagement and wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.[4]

A Gay and a NonGay

Barr began the podcast A Gay and a NonGay in 2016, after his friend Talia moved abroad and asked him to look after her boyfriend Dan Hudson. The podcast centres around topical discussion from gay and non-gay perspectives, with James providing the gay perspective, and Dan Hudson providing the heterosexual perspective.[5] According to Pods up North, the podcast has over two million listens as of 2020.[6] The duo were due to take the show out on tour in 2020, but this was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] A Gay and a NonGay was nominated for the Best Entertainment Podcast in 2017 and won the Bronze Award for the 2018 Best Comedy Category at the British Podcast Awards.[8][9] Since then, Barr has been part of the judging panel for the awards.[10]

Comedy show Thirst Trap

In early 2019, Barr played a series of comedy shows at the Above the Stag Theatre, in Vauxhall, London. Titled Thirst Trap, Barr took the show to the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[11] After his appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe, it was reported that Barr would be working with STV Entertainment to develop Thirst Trap as a format.[12]

Hits Radio Breakfast Show

In June 2019, it was announced that Barr would be joining the X Factor series 11 runner-up Fleur East, and radio host Greg Burns as the new hosts of the Hits Radio Breakfast Show, launching on 12 July 2019.[13] The show is aimed at audiences aged 25–44.[14] Six weeks after launch, it was announced that Barr, Burns and East would be taking the Saturday morning breakfast show; Saturday mornings with Fleur East, Greg and James features highlights from the weekday Hits Radio Breakfast Show.[15]

Personal life

During an interview with Celeb Mix Barr spoke about his coming out experience, noting that he experienced a negative reception with his parents.[1]

Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations for James Barr
Award Year[a] Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Category Result Ref.
British Podcast Awards 2017 A Gay and a NonGay Best Entertainment Podcast Nominated
[8]
British Podcast Awards 2018 A Gay and a NonGay Best Comedy Podcast Bronze
[9]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

  1. ^ a b Smith, Niki (2017). "James Barr Talks Coming Out and How He Wants To Inspire Members of the LGBTQ Community". Celeb mix. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  2. ^ Amess, Shelby (2018). "Exclusive: Interview with James Barr". Celebmix. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  3. ^ "James Barr & Dan Hudson". North Bank Talent. 27 May 2018. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  4. ^ Hampson, Laura (8 January 2018). "Obsessed with the upcoming royal wedding? You need to listen to this podcast". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  5. ^ "A Gay and NonGay". Gaynongay.com. 2021. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  6. ^ "James Barr". Pods Up North. 2020. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  7. ^ Spencer, Aaron (8 August 2020). "LGBTQ+ influencers making strides in the media – James Barr and Dan Hudson aka A Gay and A NonGay (EP.6)". Proudly. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b "2017 Nominations". British Podcast Awards. 2017. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  9. ^ a b "2018 Winners". British Podcast Awards. 2018. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Judges". British Podcast Awards. 2021. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  11. ^ "How comedian James Barr turned his disastrous dating life into a no-holds-barred show about gay self-acceptance". Attitude. 2 August 2019. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Comedian And TV/Radio Presenter James Barr Brings His Debut Show To The Edinburgh Fringe". BroadwayWorld. 1 July 2019. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  13. ^ O'shea, Amelia; Martin, Cat (25 June 2019). "Hits radio announces brand new breakfast show with Fleur East, Greg Burns and James Barr". Bauer Media. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  14. ^ Prior, David (25 June 2019). "Fleur East leads new Manchester-based breakfast line-up on Hits Radio". Prolific North. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Hits Radio weekend show for Fleur East, Greg Burns and James Barr". Radio Today. September 2019. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.