Radio 1 newsreader's CBeebies dream comes true after royal boost

1 day ago 4

BBC Calum sits in a sunny, outdoor restaurant. He has sunglasses on his head and is smiling. He has blue eyes and two small silver hoop earrings in his left ear.

A campaign to get a Radio 1 newsreader a slot on CBeebies Bedtime Stories got a royal boost from the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Newsbeat presenter Calum Leslie had been told he could record an entry of the popular evening segment on the BBC Children's TV channel if a social media clip of him hit one million views by 08:30 BST on Thursday.

As the deadline loomed, Radio 1 Breakfast show host Greg James followed a listener's advice to ask Prince William and Princess Catherine for help.

Shortly afterwards, the CBeebies post was shared from their official accounts and Calum's video hit its target within 10 minutes.

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The CBeebies Bedtime Story is broadcast just before 19:00, when the channel aimed at very young children stops broadcasting for the day.

It features celebrities and other well-known personalities reading a short picture book before wishing the audience a good night.

A-list actors such as Tom Hardy, pop stars including Harry Styles and Billie Eilish, as well as sporting heroes Lewis Hamilton and Harry Kane are just some of the names who've sat in the famous CBeebies armchair.

Calum's "audition" clip uploaded to Instagram featured him, in his pyjamas, reading the story of a giraffe born without markings who learns that their differences make them special.

Billie Eilish sits in an armchair and looks down as she reads from a picture book. She wears a baggy blue hoody and a dark green bandana with white shapes forming a pattern on it. In the background recording equipment and speakers can be seen.

As Calum and Greg discussed ways to get his video more views during Thursday's Breakfast show, listener Emma phoned in to suggest they contact the royals.

"I remember years ago when William and Kate said that they listen to the Breakfast Show on the school run," she said.

Emma suggested the couple would be "providing a service for their country" if they shared the clip on Instagram.

Greg then said he could send a voice note to William and Catherine's official account.

To which Calum responded: "Are you about to DM the future king of the United Kingdom about me in my pyjamas?"

'Nice PJs'

Greg broadcast himself recording a voice message to the royals, explaining that they had just 10 minutes to get the video to one million views.

"If that happens then CBeebies will upgrade him to a full Bedtime Story and he will be in the bedroom in amongst the greats," he said.

A short time later, the video appeared as an Instagram story on the @princeandprincessofwales account, alongside the caption "nice PJs, Calum".

It shot past its target within the following 10 minutes.

Calum was congratulated by fellow Radio 1 presenters, and Greg thanked the prince and princess for giving the campaign "the final push".

CBeebies also replied, telling Calum: "See you in 2026."

Princess Catherine was the first royal to tell a bedtime story on the channel, reading The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark to mark Children's Mental Health Week in 2022.

In the same year, she also co-presented a special edition of BBC Newsbeat, also focused on mental health, with her husband.