John Leslie and Grant Stott in radio rivalry

John Leslie and Grant Stott have ignited a sibling rivalry on the air waves, going head to head for listeners after former This Morning presenter Leslie landed a new afternoon show.
John Leslie, left, is relishing being pitted against brother Grant Stott. Picture: Greg MacveanJohn Leslie, left, is relishing being pitted against brother Grant Stott. Picture: Greg Macvean
John Leslie, left, is relishing being pitted against brother Grant Stott. Picture: Greg Macvean

He has been moved from his Saturday show on Forth 2 to a prime afternoon weekday slot which clashes with the final hour of Stott’s daily Forth One broadcast.

The brothers last went head-to-head when Leslie was the flagship presenter on Castle FM.

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The move is part of a wider reshuffle for the Bauer Media-owned Forth 2, which came into effect on Monday.

Leslie said he was relishing the chance to go up against his brother in his new weekday slot, which runs from 1pm to 4pm.

“Since we were wee boys, we’ve always been competitive so this will be no different,” he said.

“Radio is where I feel most at home and, for me, getting the daytime slot is a great opportunity. I can’t wait to get started.”

Stott has previously recalled how the pair used to fight all the time as youngsters, and even credited the brothers’ clashes as the reason for the family moving to a bigger house when he was aged ten, in order to give the boys separate rooms.

“I was two years old when we moved into a main door flat of a tenement block in the Viewforth district, just round the corner from where my father had opened a grocer’s shop,” he said.

“We stayed there until I was ten, in 1976, when we moved to a bigger house, mostly as a result of the constant fighting between me and my brother John.

“Having a two-bedroom flat had meant John and me having to share a bedroom, and we fought all the time. There was also a boxroom and my parents, at one point, tried to reduce the fighting by putting me in there. But they then received a call from my school, asking why I had suddenly become upset, why I wasn’t my usual self.”

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Leslie, 49, first took to the airwaves on Forth last March after leaving Castle FM. The star, who hasn’t worked on TV since unfounded sex attack allegations in 2003, has also been appearing in a regular slot as a DJ at city nightclub Cav.

Stott – currently coming to the end of his annual run as the villain in the King’s panto, Aladdin – hosts a hugely popular daily show from 10am until 2pm.

Other changes which came into effect on Forth 2 this week include a new nationwide show presented by Tony Blackburn.

Graham Bryce, group managing director of Forth 2 parent Bauer Radio, said: “We worked hard to produce a schedule which is jam-packed with entertaining, insightful programmes and I am proud of what we have been able to deliver for the listeners.

“We have been able to assemble a team filled with the cream of the crop in terms of radio personalities.”

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