GREG James was forced to quickly apologise for scaring fans after a post suggesting he’d quit BBC Radio One’s Breakfast Show.
The much-loved DJ, 39, decided to poke fun at Neil Young’s U-turning statement pulling out of Glastonbury before agreeing to do it again ahead of his return to the desk this morning.
However, not everyone saw the funny side, and he soon had to make a video on Instagram with wife, author Bella Mackie, explaining what was going on.
Going for a walk in the rain, Greg was heard giggling as he said: “I’m really enjoying the reaction to my post.”
Bella told him off, adding: “As I’ve said to you, 99% of people wouldn’t know what you were talking about. Everyone else thinks you’re quitting in a rage.”
“I’m not quitting in a rage, I’m very happy,” he noted, chuckling that “some did” get the joke.
“I think people call this trolling,” Bella told her husband, prompting him to respond it was “for good reasons”.
Agreeing it was “gentle trolling”, Greg said: “I’m not trying to take over the world, I’m not trying to push any conspiracies…or a billionaire agenda.”
He then joked that he was simply flogging “protein pills” with his link in his bio, causing Bella to laugh as he declared it “Gregosterone”.
He captioned the video: “An apology for being hilarious. I’m sorry x”
Greg’s clarifying clip comes after he posted a photo statement on Instagram hours before, declaring the BBC was “under corporate control” and he could “not be about to continue his work messing around with stars”.
The message was a parody of Neil Young’s decision to U-turn on his slot at Glasto last week, before releasing a new statement saying he actually would be there.
Greg wrote: “The R1 Breakfast show team and I were looking forward to starting another year of the show and delivering a load of stupid stuff to get you through the early hours, it’s one of my all time favourite gigs.
“We were told that the BBC was now a partner and wanted us to a do lot of things in a way we were not interested in. It seems Radio 1 is now under corporate control and is not the way i remember it being. Thanks for listening the last few years!”
“We will not be able to continue our work to mess around with the biggest stars in the world and celebrate our amazing listeners, like Owen who accidentally smashed 10,000 eggs, or Alice who flew to Paris to try and get off with some Olympians in the summer,” he added.
“This also means we’ll no longer be conducting funerals for any more ducks.
“Radio 1 is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be. Hope to see you on one of my many podcasts instead.”
He later added: “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided not to do the breakfast show, which I have always loved.
“Happily, the radio show is now back on my itinerary and we look forward to being there when you need some fun in the morning! Hope to see you there!”
Knowing he was probably about to get in trouble, another message read: “Looking forward to management’s reaction to a Neil Young Glastonbury joke.
“I might have inadvertently ruined my first day back. Made me laugh though so that’s good at least.”
