Capital Breakfast DJ Jordan North, 34, tells Scarlett Dargan about crack-of-dawn coffee and why he can no longer touch cider - or fermented guts
My favourite drink as a child was Vimto, the fruity soft drink.
It reminds me of summer holidays spent at my grandma’s house in Burnley when I was about six or seven. I still love it now, and when I have a glass, it takes me back to being off school. It’s made on my home soil up north [Manchester], too.
I wake up at 4.20am and always have a black coffee before my breakfast show.
It needs to be really strong – the strongest blend you can get, preferably an Italian or French one. I’ve got one of those fancy coffee-makers with a timer, so I can have it ready the second I get out of bed. Early starts mean I need three coffees to keep me going through the morning. I have to be strict with myself not to have any more.
Jordan's favourite drink was a vimto
My first experience of alcohol was as a 15-year-old drinking cider in the park.
I went with my friends on New Year’s Eve, all with those huge two-litre bottles of Frosty Jack’s Cider. I got so stupidly drunk that, even now, if I smell the stuff I can feel myself gagging.
My most memorable drink was on a flight to New York a few years ago.
It sounds strange but I’d wanted to go for years and couldn’t because I was so scared of flying. Then I did I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and thought, if I can lie in a coffin full of snakes, I can get on a plane for my dream holiday. Before landing, the flight attendant woke me up and gave me a gin and tonic – I drank it while we were circling above the city, so I could look out over the New York skyline.
The worst drink I’ve ever tasted was, predictably, on I’m A Celebrity…
During one of the bushtucker trials I had to drink fermented fish guts, and it was absolutely horrific. I can’t describe how bad it tasted – so cold and fishy! I couldn’t get the flavour out of my mouth for days afterwards.
Jordan loved a G&T en route to NY
The most famous person I’ve shared a drink with is Chris Moyles.
I always listened to his Radio 1 show growing up in the 1990s, and when I took over the Capital Breakfast show in April he messaged me asking if I’d like to go for a drink. We met up on a Saturday afternoon and he had such great advice for me about my new gig. The only issue was, we racked up quite a bill. We were there for hours chatting and I think we had about 12 bottles of lager each.
If I could have a drink with anyone alive or dead, I’d pick Caroline Aherne, who wrote and starred in The Royle Family.
Jordan wished he’d had a snifter with Caroline Aherne
It’s my favourite sitcom ever, and I think she’d have been such a laugh to have a drink with. I would love to have met her, and was devastated when she died in 2016.
After a few drinks, you’ll hear me singing ‘The Best’ by Tina Turner.
There’s just something about that song – when I’m drunk, I’m bound to get it up on karaoke.
At my funeral I want everyone to drink Guinness.
A proper pint of Guinness is my favourite drink in the world. I absolutely love the stuff. Whatever happens, I’ve got to make sure I have enough money left over to have it free-flowing at my send-off.
The one drink I always have in my fridge is milk.
I love a glass, and go through so much that I even have the milkman deliver a pint to my doorstep every morning.
Jordan North is on Capital Breakfast, Monday to Friday, 6am to 10am
