- Words Cal McIntyre
A bonafide broadcaster and presenter on Apple Music’s Beats 1, Rebecca Judd is the warm voice of hope we all need in our daily lives. We catch up with the ray of light to talk positivity and how laughing is the best cure sometimes.
After launching her career back in 2012 on Breaklondon, Rebecca Judd’s career and trajectory have grown with each step as she has soon become the voice of an online generation with her humourous takes on the culture we are surrounded by, and how her warmth and kind spirit transcends through the radiowaves and into the homes of thousands.
If you’re looking for a way to make it in the UK’s great radio culture, then Rebecca Judd has certainly made a modern blueprint on how to do it. Rebecca soon became the face of the Westside Radio’s weekday drive-time show. Alongside her fours years hosting and grafting at Westside, Rebecca co-founded the station’s inaugural grime show in 2015, sets from which have attracted Westside’s highest view counts to date. Big ups Miss Judd. It’s evidently clear that Rebecca knows what she is talking about it, but the real reason she is successful is that you can hear the love she has for what she talks about so strongly.
Rebecca’s voice is instantly recognisable, and it feels like you are catching up with an old friend as it embraces you like a warm hug. Rebecca has made a space for herself in the industry through her sheer graft and glorious attitude that is infectious to the core.
Post-2017, Rebecca Judd is seen hosting legendary platforms including GRM DAILY, ‘TBC Podcast’, YouTube, backstage at Wireless & Leeds festival to name just a few. In 2018, Rebecca crossed over from the airwaves and made her national television debut on 4music’s ‘Trending Live’ & is a regular voice on Kiss TV’s show Hype. As of January 2018, Rebecca Judd is a member of the Apple Music family. Hosting The Rebecca Judd Show Mondays to Thursdays from 2-4pm, it seems like Rebecca knew what she wanted and worked hard to get there for herself.
We catch up with the new reigning princess of radio over Zoom, but after a few technical glitches, so we just have a nice chat over the phone about how Rebecca herself is staying positive in isolation and what it means to be a voice of hope that so many people count on in their everyday lives.
How are you doing with everything going on in the world?
Yeah, I’m really good! I’m lucky because I have a garden and I’ve managed to set up a little area in my room that’s dedicated just to work. It’s weird, isn’t it? How we have all adjusted? This kind of feels normal now – I record my radio show underneath my duvet in my room. I really can’t complain to be honest, I feel very lucky.
You such a positive force in everyday life, how do you maintain this?
To be honest, I think it’s knowing when to finish a workday has a big impact on your mental health. Once it gets to a certain time I make sure to finish what I’m doing and put all my work stuff away. To be honest, I watched ‘Ozark’ in about ten days. I’ve been having a lot more baths as well, doing faces masks and listening to great music. It’s been really nice to take that time for myself in ways I wouldn’t have before. I mean, now of us have gone through before so you want to just do whatever you want then go for it.
What have you learned about yourself in isolation?
I guess before all this happened, my work schedule was crazy. I was out every single day, and after work, I’d be meeting my friends for dinner and drinks then as soon as I’d get home I’d be going to bed and then getting up and going straight back to work. So, it has been really nice to just relax and chill – I’ve learned you don’t actually have to go anywhere.
What tips would you give to people looking to follow in your footsteps?
I definitely would say that consistency is key. There’s gonna be a lot of free work you’re going to have to do to get your name out there and to get used to the nature of the industry. I think I went about six years without getting paid anything from radio you know, which doesn’t make it ok… but I guess it’s good to be realistic about some things. Just keep it in the back of your head that you’re going to get to your goal no matter what happens.
What’s your favourite thing about what you do?
My favourite thing would probably be that, especially during times like these, I can be a little bit of joy in someone’s day.
What are you most looking forward to?
To be honest, just seeing my friends and family. My sister had a baby recently and I haven’t been able to see her, so I am really looking forward to meeting her for the first time. I’m probably never going to take for granted another party again.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
It would probably be to never lose myself and to not get caught up in everything. Whatever I do, the future is always in the back of my mind so that really helps to have that mental attitude.
What’s something people may not know about you?
Oh my gosh, that is a hard question. Do I take it back to old memories or something about my personality? Hmmm, you know what, I’m gonna take it back to memories. Around Year 10 or 11 in school, and we went on the Thames on a school trip (I don’t really know why) but I demanded to have my own canoe and to cut a long story short I fell in the Thames and ended up drinking a mouthful of that lovely London water. I feel like I’m probably immune to anything after that.