Jamie Laing

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 seriesMade in Chelseasince thesecond seriesin 2011. He runs and hosts three podcasts - "Newly Weds" with his wife,Private Parts, and aBBC Radio 1podcast,6 Degrees from Jamie and Spencer. As an actor, he has appeared in shows such asHollyoaks,Murder In SuccessvilleandDrunk History.
Laing was born inOxfordin 1988. His parents are Penny and Nicholas. He has an older brother, Alexander and a younger sister, Emily.
He was privately educated at bothSummer Fields School(1997–2002) andRadley College, before attending theUniversity of Leeds, where he studied Theatre and Performance.
Laing is great-great-grandson ofSir Alexander Grant, 1st Baronet, who created theMcVitie'sdigestive biscuitin 1892,and a great-nephew ofthe Lord Laing of Dunphail.
In 2011, Laing rose to fame through theE4reality showMade in Chelsea, joining the show in thesecond series.
He launched his own confectionery company, Candy Kittens, in 2012, which specialises in vegan and vegetarian sweets.
Laing's acting credits include playing a fashion show attendee in 2016'sAbsolutely Fabulous: The Movieand a doctor in a 2017 episode ofChannel 4soap operaHollyoaks.
He also beat the previous world record in ‘amount of jelly beans thrown in mouth per 30 seconds’ on Series 12 Episode 3 of8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdownwith 18 jellybeans; beating the previous record by 3.
In 2017, he appeared on the first series ofCelebrity Huntedalongside hisMade in Chelseaco-starSpencer Matthews. In 2018, he appeared in the third episode of the first season ofThe Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off.
In August 2019, Laing was named as one of the celebrities to star in theseventeenth seriesofStrictly 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 dancerOti Mabuse. He was replaced byKelvin Fletcher, who went on to win the series. The following year, he was announced as a contestant on theeighteenth series, where he was re-partnered withKaren Hauer, making the final and finishing as one of the runners-up.  Laing is the only person to appear on two different series ofStrictly.
In 2018, he filmed a Channel 4 documentary calledFamous and Fighting Crime, in which he became a volunteerpolice officerinPeterborough.
Since early 2017, he has hosted a podcast,Private Parts, with his friend Francis Boulle,as well as starting a podcast onBBC Soundsin May 2020,6 Degrees from Jamie and Spencer, with Spencer Matthews.
In 2021, Laing appeared onRichard Osman's House of Games.
From 28 October 2022, Laing replacedMollie KingonBBC Radio 1while she was onmaternity leave.In March 2024, he replacedJordan Northon Radio 1's Going Home show.
Laing lives with his wife, Sophie Charlotte Habboo (born 19 October 1994), inLondonandGloucestershire.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 toMarbellaa month later for a second wedding in front of friends and family.