Jamie Laing

Not to be confused with Jamie Liang.

Jamie Laing
Born (1988-11-03) 3 November 1988 (age 36)
Oxford, England
Education
Occupations
Years active2011–present
TelevisionMade in Chelsea
Spouse
Sophie Habboo
​
(m. 2023)​

James Laing (/ˈleɪŋ/ LAYNG; born 3 November 1988) is an English presenter, television personality and investor. He is the founder of the confectionery company Candy Kittens and is best known for appearing on the reality television series Made in Chelsea since the second series in 2011. He runs and hosts three podcasts - "Newly Weds" with his wife, Private Parts, and a BBC Radio 1 podcast, 6 Degrees from Jamie and Spencer. As an actor, he has appeared in shows such as Hollyoaks, Murder In Successville and Drunk History.

Early life

Laing was born in Oxford in 1988. His parents are Penny and Nicholas. He has an older brother, Alexander and a younger sister, Emily.[1]

He was privately educated at both Summer Fields School (1997–2002) and Radley College, before attending the University of Leeds, where he studied Theatre and Performance.[2][3]

Laing is great-great-grandson of Sir Alexander Grant, 1st Baronet, who created the McVitie's digestive biscuit in 1892,[4] and a great-nephew of the Lord Laing of Dunphail.

Career

In 2011, Laing rose to fame through the E4 reality show Made in Chelsea, joining the show in the second series.

He launched his own confectionery company, Candy Kittens, in 2012, which specialises in vegan and vegetarian sweets.[5][6]

Laing's acting credits include playing a fashion show attendee in 2016's Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie and a doctor in a 2017 episode of Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.

He also beat the previous world record in ‘amount of jelly beans thrown in mouth per 30 seconds’ on Series 12 Episode 3 of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown with 18 jellybeans; beating the previous record by 3.

In 2017, he appeared on the first series of Celebrity Hunted alongside his Made in Chelsea co-star Spencer Matthews. In 2018, he appeared in the third episode of the first season of The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off.

In August 2019, Laing was named as one of the celebrities to star in the seventeenth series of Strictly Come Dancing; however a foot injury led him to withdraw on 5 September, two days before the launch show was aired, where he was paired with professional dancer Oti Mabuse. He was replaced by Kelvin Fletcher, who went on to win the series. The following year, he was announced as a contestant on the eighteenth series, where he was re-partnered with Karen Hauer, making the final and finishing as one of the runners-up. Laing is the only person to appear on two different series of Strictly.

In 2018, he filmed a Channel 4 documentary called Famous and Fighting Crime, in which he became a volunteer police officer in Peterborough.

Since early 2017, he has hosted a podcast, Private Parts, with his friend Francis Boulle,[7] as well as starting a podcast on BBC Sounds in May 2020, 6 Degrees from Jamie and Spencer, with Spencer Matthews.[8]

In 2021, Laing appeared on Richard Osman's House of Games.

From 28 October 2022, Laing replaced Mollie King on BBC Radio 1 while she was on maternity leave.[9] In March 2024, he replaced Jordan North on Radio 1's Going Home show.[10]

Personal life

Laing lives with his wife, Sophie Charlotte Habboo (born 19 October 1994), in London and Gloucestershire.[11][12][13] They have been together since April 2019, and announced their engagement on Instagram on 18 December 2021. They married on 14 April 2023 in London, before heading to Marbella a month later for a second wedding in front of friends and family.[14]

References

  1. ^ Ellie Austin, Interviews by (22 January 2017). "Relative Values: Made in Chelsea's Jamie Laing and his mother, Penny". Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019 – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  2. ^ "Jamie Laing, Strictly Come Dancing 2020 contestant and OS, 1997–2002, is through to the semi-finals". Old Summerfieldians Alumni Community. 4 December 2020. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  3. ^ Green, Willow (2021). "Jamie Laing: Who Is Made In Chelsea's Veteran Lost Boy?". Grazia. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  4. ^ Pantazi, Chloe (27 April 2016). "'Made in Chelsea' star Jamie Laing discusses being heir to the McVitie's fortune, his candy business, and how much of the show is 'real'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  5. ^ "The story of Candy Kittens". Candy Kittens. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  6. ^ Burn-Callander, Rebecca (26 November 2015). "Made in Chelsea's Jamie Laing to crowdfund £300,000 for Candy Kittens". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Private Parts Podcast with Jamie Laing & his celebrity friends". privatepod.tv. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  8. ^ "6 Degrees from Jamie and Spencer". BBC Sounds. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Jamie Laing to cover Mollie King on BBC Radio 1". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 23 December 2022.[permanent dead link‍]
  10. ^ "Jordan North speaks out after sudden Radio 1 exit". BBC News. 17 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Jamie Lang's girlfriend: all you need to know about Sophie Habboo". HELLO!. 17 October 2020. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Inside Jamie Laing's ultra-modern home with girlfriend Sophie Habboo". HELLO!. 7 November 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  13. ^ "How Strictly star Jamie Laing was made in Gloucestershire". 29 December 2020. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  14. ^ Moore, Matthew (20 May 2023). "Jamie Laing marries Sophie Habboo marry in gorgeous second Marbella wedding". Hello!. Retrieved 5 June 2024.