The presenter was left unimpressed with the Hollywood star he met several years ago
19:39, 05 Dec 2025
Greg James on BBC’s The One Show(Image: BBC)
BBC star Greg James has revealed the Hollywood star who ‘refused’ to shake his hand as he met them for an interview to promote one of their projects.
The 39-year-old has been working on BBC Radio 1 as a presenter since 2007, previously presenting the station’s drivetime show. Greg was chosen to replace Nick Grimshaw as Radio 1’s breakfast presenter in 2018, with Nick taking over his old show.
It’s been a busy period for the broadcaster, who recently released his new book All the Best for the Future: Growing Up Without Growing Old. The book’s blurb states: “In All the Best for the Future, Greg looks at how he thought his life would go and shares the things that wind him up, make him sad, make him laugh and the little passions and interests that he relies on to get him through the day – whether it was a good one or a bad one.
“He tells us who he is, who he thought he’d be and who he still thinks he could be. Most of all though, his message for everyone is not to let go of that inner child as he navigates how to grow up without growing old.
“It’s possible to be fully functioning adults, with bills to pay and a dog to look after, and still find time to play with a train set…
One of the things that has made Greg a hit with his loyal fans, who choose to spend their mornings with him, is his interviews with various famous faces. Over the years Greg has interviewed everyone from Taylor Swift to Billie Eilish.
Greg revealed what happened when he met Sandra Bullock(Image: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
However, not every interview has gone to plan for Greg. Appearing on JaackMaate’s Happy Hour podcast, the radio star revealed he didn’t get off to the best star when he met Gravity’s Sandra Bullock.
“I remember Sandra Bullock refused to shake my hand. And the reason she gave was that her child had fallen il… So she said, it was a junket interview, and they’re really stressful, aren’t they? They’re horrible. Yeah, four minutes. Go and speak to Meryl Streep,” he said.
Noticing Sandra, Greg continued: “I went to shake her hand, and she said, ‘I’m not shaking hands today, my kid’s not very well’. What?
“She thought that germs were going to be from her kid’s mouth, into her hand, into my hand, and then I’d be ill with Sandra Bullock’s kid’s flu.”
While he didn’t state when the exchange occurred, Greg noted that he wishes the Speed star had ‘been honest’ about why she didn’t want to shake his hand.
“The way I’m seeing that, she could either be being really nice and she’s trying to protect you from the kid’s illness…. Or she could be really bitter.
“And be like, ‘someone’s made my kid ill, so I’m not shaking strangers’ hands again’,” he said.
