Matt Edmondson has lifted the lid on his surprisingly busy life outside of Radio 1, revealing he’s quietly built a board-game business, battled through a career wobble in his early twenties, and is now launching a podcast all about the strange things people spend their money on.
Speaking to The Times, the Radio 1 presenter said he’s created “16 or 17 games” over the years, including the fan-favourite Obama Llama, which still earns him royalties every few months. “I still get paid for it every quarter,” he said, adding that the company he runs with his brother-in-law now sells games worldwide. “They’re on the shelves in Walmart, John Lewis, Waterstones — anywhere you buy board games.”
Edmondson says he loves the creative side, even if he’s not the one poring over spreadsheets. “My brother-in-law handles the finances,” he admitted. “I just like coming up with the games.”
But the presenter also opened up about how close he came to leaving entertainment entirely after his early break at CBBC ended abruptly. “When new management came in and they let me go, I didn’t know what to do with my life,” he explained. “I was 20, with no qualifications, and had already done the only job I ever wanted to do.”
With money running out, he took a stall in Greenwich market selling magic tricks to stay afloat until Radio 1 unexpectedly came calling. He says someone at the station spotted videos he was posting online and invited him to a meeting.
“I was quite bad at being a radio presenter for a long time,” he said, “but they let me be bad until I was good, and now I love it more than anything.”
He’s now adding another project to his already busy career: Spent, a podcast where celebrities talk openly about their spending habits. “I’m fascinated by other people’s spending,” he said. “I often wonder why I can’t be more relaxed about money.”
The Times also quoted him admitting he’s a committed saver and famously risk-averse. “The guy who does my pension made me do a risk-profile questionnaire and when it came back he said he’d never seen anyone more risk averse than me.”
Between the board-game royalties, the Radio 1 show with Mollie King and a podcast about money, Edmondson seems happier than ever juggling the things he loves, even if he still jokes about being disorganised. As he put it: “If it’s adult-level functioning you need, I’m not your man.”
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