Duncan James

Singer Duncan James, 30, made his name in boy band Blue, performing tracks such as All Rise and Too Close. He has gone on to appear in Chicago and present the National Lottery draw. His new sitcom, Plus One, starts on Channel 4 tomorrow at 10pm.

What’s the new show about?
It’s a comedy about someone whose girlfriend’s dumped him for a celebrity – myself – and sees pictures of me and his ex in Heat and things like that. It’s about how much he hates me and the revenge fantasies he has. It was a lot of fun to do. It plays around the image of me being an arrogant a***hole from Blue – which I’m sure is how some people see me.

It’s on after Celebrity Big Brother. Would you do that programme yourself?
No, I did my reality stint on Dancing On Ice. If you do too many of those shows, people forget you might have a talent and you just become a celebrity. You end up looking fame hungry. I did Dancing On Ice as it was a good transition from Blue to the West End. The ice skating was all Lycra costumes and pure entertainment. It was great fun, rather than just sitting in a house and being judged.

What did you make of former Blue singer Simon Webbe’s performance on I’m A Celebrity?
I know people have said he was too quiet on the show but I think he did really well. He’s a really nice guy, really chilled out and lasted a long time. I don’t think it’s done him any harm.

Have you got any plans to resurrect your pop career?
I had a great time in Blue but I’m perfectly happy playing Duncan from Blue in a sitcom at the moment.

What’s the worst gig you’ve ever done?
We did some quite rough university shows when Blue first started. They threw bottles at us but it was quite fun in a way. I remember Lee kicking off at someone. It makes you realise it’s not all adoring fans. Having a bottle thrown at your head keeps you grounded.

 

What were the highlights of being in Blue?
Just having the success we did. To say you have worked with Elton John and Stevie Wonder is a huge achievement. We got to see a lot of the world, which was great. I’m from a single parent family with no money; if it wasn’t for Blue I wouldn’t have been able to travel.

Did Lee Ryan’s comments about ‘who cares about 9/11 when there are whales dying’ ruin your US career before it began?
It certainly didn’t help. The quote was taken out of context. We were doing well all around the world and there was talk of us going to America. We were there when 9/11 happened, filming a video, we watched it all and it was horrendous. We were constantly asked about it when we got home. Lee said whales and dolphins dying upset him too but the story was ‘F*** New York, what about the whales and dolphins?’ That didn’t help our chances in America. We had 100,000 e-mails complaining about it and threatening us. Someone said they’d give us anthrax if we went back to America.

Pictures from WhenOnlyHotWillDo Full Interview here Metro