Jake Humphrey: I've been bullied and trolled and sacked by McDonald's so success is sweet
Jake Humphrey: I've been bullied and trolled and sacked by McDonald's so success is sweet
The new anchor of Premier League football on BT Sport is riding high now but suffered merciless bullying as a teenager
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Looking at old photographs of the harmless schoolboys, Jake Humphrey
just cannot understand how he allowed them to put him through hell.
As the new anchor of Premier League football on BT Sport, the 34-year-old TV presenter is riding high.
But during his teenage years he suffered merciless bullying from school thugs.
“I was bullied really quite badly,” says Jake, who grew up in Norwich. “In the end my parents moved my school because of it.
“On a couple of occasions since, I’ve seen the people around and it frustrates me.
"Or
I look at school photos, see these tiny little lads, and think, ‘Why
was I so scared of you? What the hell was wrong with me?’
“But when you are that age, it feels like the biggest deal in the world. I was so upset by it some days as a kid.
“I
hate bullying, I really hate it. I remember one evening at the Scouts
they tied me up in a tent bag it was horrendous – absolutely horrendous.
"I’m
a firm believer that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but
bullying is the one thing that I really, really hate, even now. I can’t
stand it.” Old scores: Jake Humphrey as a young boy
However, Jake believes that what the bullies saw as weaknesses are in fact strengths which led to his TV success.
“What
helps me in my job now is an empathy and an emotional ability to
connect with people and to ask the right kind of questions,” he says.
“But I had that same empathy and emotional maturity when I was 12 years old.
"So
when the rest of the boys just wanted to play football and mess around
they saw that side of me as a weakness, a soft touch.”
I meet Jake at the top of London’s BT Tower – the 620ft monolith which overlooks the capital.
It feels a fitting place to meet a man who is quickly establishing himself at the top of the broadcasting business.
He’s cheerful and unassuming as we chat, and laughs as he recalls experiences which might have left others mentally scarred.
“I was sacked from McDonald’s as a teenager because of my poor communication skills,” he reveals.
“I still to this day cannot understand who it was I was meant to communicate with, because my primary job was cooking fries.
"I’d put on my apron, go into the freezer, put them in the fryer – who the hell was I supposed to speak to?
“But
in many ways that was a good thing because it taught me that the world
isn’t always a friendly place – it was my first proper job and I got the
boot from it.
“Recently I got an honorary doctorate from the University of East Anglia and I drove there with my mum and dad.
"We went past the McDonald’s and I said, ‘this is a nice moment’.” Winning formula: In F1 job with David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and Lewis Hamilton
Modestly, Jake puts much of his success down to luck. He
landed a job as a £5-a-day runner on defunct Rapture TV after failing
his A-levels.
A chance to present a show after the host called in
sick first put him in front of the cameras and shortly after that he got
a job as a presenter on CBBC.
But his big break came in 2008 with
the chance to host the Beeb’s Formula 1 coverage. Unfortunately it also
gave him a harsh taste of life in the public eye.
As news of his
appointment broke, heartbroken wife Harriet called in tears after
reading thousands of abusive comments posted online labelling him
“useless” and lacking experience.
But in the face of the torrent,
Jake finally won the respect of the F1 fans and some broadcasting icons –
including Murray Walker and long-time hero Des Lynam.
Jake says: “My wife was so upset she cried. But you don’t need to be an ex-pro to be a great broadcaster.
“I
remember standing in the pit lane just after I got offered the F1 job
when I was 28 – following in the footsteps of Steve Ryder and in the
shadow of Murray Walker – and I had all this s*** from people on the
internet, really horrible, vitriolic, nasty comments, saying what an
awful job I was going to do.
“Anyone who says to you I don’t read
the papers, or I don’t care what anyone says about me on Twitter, is a
liar – everyone does. Every celebrity or anyone on the telly without a
doubt puts their name into Google to see what’s being said about them.
“But
the biggest reason for that is that I know that my bosses are looking
at it, seeing what’s being written, so I think it’s important for me to
know, too.” New faces: Jake Humphrey with Michael Owen
PA
After earning his stripes during his four-year stint on
Formula 1, many were stunned when he quit the BBC to become the face of
new channel BT Sport – surprise winner of the rights to 38 Premier
League games this season, after paying almost £700million.
It’s absolutely a risk to walk away from the BBC at this stage for a channel that hadn’t yet been set up,” he accepts.
“It
didn’t exist when I said yes. When I told my parents they said, ‘What,
are you mad?’ But life is about taking risks and backing yourself.
"I
feel now just like I did in 2008 when I got offered the Formula 1 job,
‘Is this going to work? What must I do to make this a success’, but I
love putting that sort of pressure on myself.
“I want to get people closer to football than they’ve ever got before.
"You
can’t please everyone all of the time, but you can please some of the
people some of the time and so I don’t let criticism really bother me –
and I certainly get a lot less than I used to, and hopefully those who
are still yet to be convinced will be when we go on air.”
Behind
the scenes there’s a more personal motivation for Jake’s departure from
F1, which saw him travelling the world for most of the year.
He became a dad – to daughter Florence – in March.
“Becoming a dad was mad,” he grins. Top of his game: Jake Humphrey with wife Harriet
Dominic O'Neill
“I remember I was working for Channel 4 doing this show called Bedtime Live, and Florence was overdue.
“In
this job it really takes a lot for you to miss a live TV show so I did
the live show on the Tuesday, came off air at 9pm, went home and we went
straight to the hospital. Harriet was induced at 10pm that same
evening.
“I didn’t sleep for about four days afterwards and I was back on live telly a few days later.
"But I was lucky after that to have a few weeks where I had time to be a hands-on dad and I’m really enjoying that.
“I try to do everything I can, nappies, up in the night, burping her, playing with her – it’s really great.
"Becoming a dad was certainly a big part of my decision. It is nice to know I’m not off travelling the world with Formula 1 now.
“Admittedly
Sunderland isn’t quite Singapore and Manchester isn’t quite Melbourne
but seeing Florence grow up makes that so worthwhile.
“So much has happened in the last three months, more than I could ever believe. I wouldn’t have missed a second of it.”
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