Devin Griffin
Encyclopedia
Devin "Dev" Joseph Jordan Griffin (born 23 December 1984) is a British
actor
, radio presenter and DJ who is most commonly known for currently presenting the weekday early breakfast show on BBC Radio 1
.
, London
, United Kingdom
, to an Irish
mother and a Jamaica
n father. He and his twin sister are the youngest of five siblings. He was educated at The Ravenscroft School and attended the after-school drama club at the Anna Scher Theatre School.
(credited as DJ Devstar) alongside his childhood friend Reggie Yates
and Fearne Cotton
. Six months into filming, he was approached by Radio 1Xtra to present a Saturday morning show with his Smile co-presenter Reggie; the 'Reg and Dev' show was born. In 2003 Griffin left Smile to concentrate on his radio career, and soon afterwards began presenting a solo show on 1xtra on Sunday mornings. Since September 2009 he has presented the early morning breakfast show (Monday-Friday 4-6:30am).
at the Hammersmith Apollo
and Jurassic 5
at the London Astoria
.
to take on the weekend breakfast show. This show started in July 2009.
In a further shake up to their daytime programming, during the Summer of 2009, it was announced that Dev would be moving from Weekend Breakfast, to replace Greg James
, as the host of the weekday Radio 1
Early Breakfast slot.
His first show as permanent presenter occurred on 21 September 2009.
A new feature on his show is the 'CD Graveyard' feature, where listeners can send Dev their old CD singles and he will play them on Radio 1 one last time before sending them to the 'CD Graveyard' as CD Heaven or CD Hell. On Monday 23 November a new feature came into the show called "I'm here all week" where a listener gets to choose a song for each day with a theme for each day, Metal Monday, Trance Tuesday, One Hit Wonder Wednesday, First Bought Thursday and Freedom Friday.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, radio presenter and DJ who is most commonly known for currently presenting the weekday early breakfast show on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
.
Early life
Griffin was born on 23 December 1984 in Mill HillMill Hill
Mill Hill is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a suburb situated 9 miles north west of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until it was absorbed by London...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, to an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
mother and a Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n father. He and his twin sister are the youngest of five siblings. He was educated at The Ravenscroft School and attended the after-school drama club at the Anna Scher Theatre School.
Early career
In 2002, whilst studying for his A Levels at The Ravenscroft School, Griffin landed a job co-presenting the children's interactive TV show SmileSmile (TV series)
Smile was a British Sunday morning children's programme created by production company Darrall Macqueen Ltd for CBBC. It first aired in 2002 and was originally shown on the CBBC Channel. It was moved to BBC Two to make way for Dick and Dom in da Bungalow. Although Dick and Dom finished in 2006,...
(credited as DJ Devstar) alongside his childhood friend Reggie Yates
Reggie Yates
Reginald "Reggie" Yates is a British actor, television presenter and radio DJ of Ghanaian descent. He went to Central Foundation Boys' School.-Early career:...
and Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton is an English television and radio presenter who is known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as Top of the Pops and the Red Nose Day telethon. In 2007, she became the first regular female presenter of BBC Radio 1's Chart Show...
. Six months into filming, he was approached by Radio 1Xtra to present a Saturday morning show with his Smile co-presenter Reggie; the 'Reg and Dev' show was born. In 2003 Griffin left Smile to concentrate on his radio career, and soon afterwards began presenting a solo show on 1xtra on Sunday mornings. Since September 2009 he has presented the early morning breakfast show (Monday-Friday 4-6:30am).
DJ
Griffin warmed up for Kanye WestKanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
at the Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo is a major entertainment venue located in Hammersmith, London. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, being re-named the Hammersmith Odeon in 1962...
and Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5 was an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1993 from members of two previous groups, Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee by rappers Charles Stewart , Dante Givens , Courtenay Henderson , Marc Stuart , and disc jockeys Mark Potsic and Lucas Macfadden...
at the London Astoria
London Astoria
The London Astoria was a music venue, located at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. It had been leased and run by Festival Republic since 2000. It was closed on 15 January 2009 and has since been demolished...
.
Radio
On 5 June 2009 the BBC announced that Dev was moving from his early breakfast show on Radio 1Xtra across to Radio 1BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
to take on the weekend breakfast show. This show started in July 2009.
In a further shake up to their daytime programming, during the Summer of 2009, it was announced that Dev would be moving from Weekend Breakfast, to replace Greg James
Greg James
Greg James may refer to:*Greg James , BBC Radio 1 DJ and broadcaster*Greg James , Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales...
, as the host of the weekday Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
Early Breakfast slot.
His first show as permanent presenter occurred on 21 September 2009.
A new feature on his show is the 'CD Graveyard' feature, where listeners can send Dev their old CD singles and he will play them on Radio 1 one last time before sending them to the 'CD Graveyard' as CD Heaven or CD Hell. On Monday 23 November a new feature came into the show called "I'm here all week" where a listener gets to choose a song for each day with a theme for each day, Metal Monday, Trance Tuesday, One Hit Wonder Wednesday, First Bought Thursday and Freedom Friday.
Radio presenting
- Early Breakfast Show (BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
) - Badge (BBC Radio 1XtraBBC Radio 1XtraBBC Radio 1Xtra is a digital radio station in the United Kingdom from the BBC specialising in new black music, sometimes referred to as urban music. Launched at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been codenamed Network X during the consulation period and is the sister station to BBC Radio 1...
) - RegReggie YatesReginald "Reggie" Yates is a British actor, television presenter and radio DJ of Ghanaian descent. He went to Central Foundation Boys' School.-Early career:...
& Dev (BBC Radio 1XtraBBC Radio 1XtraBBC Radio 1Xtra is a digital radio station in the United Kingdom from the BBC specialising in new black music, sometimes referred to as urban music. Launched at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been codenamed Network X during the consulation period and is the sister station to BBC Radio 1...
)
Television acting
- The Crust — Starring Dev Griffin and Reggie Yates (Darrall Macqueen)
- Emmerdale
- I Bring You Frankincense (Crucial Films)
- The Bill
- Hollyoaks