ADVERTISING FEATURE The new Friday breakfast show team Nick Osbourne, Jack the Lad and Lou Nash
Jack Hayes, or Jack the Lad as he’s more widely known, has recently returned to the Sussex airwaves with More Radio. We tasked Robert Veitch to learn more about the man, and see what he’s planning to bring to broadcasting
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ussex is home to Jack, “I’ve lived here almost thirty years, but it’s not where I’m from. I was born in 1974, in Kingston upon Thames, with no clothes on. We lived in Molesey, southwest London, half way between Hampton Court and Walton-onThames. It sounds idyllic by the banks of the Thames, but we’d lived in four council houses by the time I was ten.” Jack’s school days were difficult; “Me and school didn’t mix. I was bullied and became an awful pupil, leaving with one GCSE. After a year at college, in 1991 I followed my parents and moved to ‘sunny’ Worthing.” Jack worked for three years at King Alfred Leisure Centre in Hove, before decamping to New Zealand for six months. On his return in 1995 he became a lifeguard on Hove beach, “It was a brilliant summer so I went
I never lie to the audience because I believe the best presenters offer more of themselves
back for more in 1996. On the 4th July my friend Christian Black and I rescued a kid from the sea in gale force winds. Swimming back to the beach I got bashed into a groyne and hurt, while the others got back to shore. I was eventually rescued by helicopter. Christian and I later received Royal Humane Society Bronze medals for bravery.” It was time for a change of scene. “I moved into the drinks industry, running two pubs in Tunbridge Wells, and pre-club bars in Brighton. I did that until 2003, when a DJ friend called Mike Panteli told me Southern FM were looking for a ‘street boy’ character on their breakfast show, and he thought I should apply.” Jack’s debut was 4th March 2004 with Danny Pike and Nicky KeigShevlin. Eventually they moved on and other presenters came and went. The
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