Jamie Laing: Life, relationships and career explained as ex-Made In Chelsea Star undertakes Comic Relief ultra marathon challenge

The former reality show star began the second leg of his incredible challenge this morning, all in the name of raising money for Comic Relief. Jamie, 36, is attempting to run five ultra marathons in only five days, travelling from London to Manchester.

Yesterday (March 17), Jamie ran from BBC Broadcasting House in central London to Harpenden, running 30.5 miles. He set off from Wyboston earlier this morning (March 18), with the aim of running 30 miles to reach Kettering later today.

Jamie has become the latest BBC star to undertake a huge challenge for Comic Relief, following in the footsteps of stars such as Greg James, Dermot O’Leary and Helen Skelton.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Jamie Laing as he continues his huge Comic Relief challenge.

What is Jamie Laing best known for?

Jamie grew to public prominence after joining the cast of Made In Chelsea on series two of the hit E4 reality show. Jamie remained on the show for nine years, before departing in 2020.

During his time on Made In Chelsea, Jamie launched his gourmet sweet business Candy Kittens. Business is booming for the media personality, who has built Candy Kittens to be worth £7.9 million, with a turnover of £12.1 million, according to Pomanda.

Alongside this, Jamie appeared on shows such as Richard Osman’s House of Games and Strictly Come Dancing. After being announced as a contestant for the seventeenth series of Strictly, Jamie suffered a foot injury which forced him to withdraw from the competition - he returned as a contestant the very next year, when he placed as runner-up in the final.

In October 2022, Jamie stood in for former The Saturdays singer Mollie King on her BBC Radio 1 show while she was on maternity leave. His temporary stint impressed bosses so much that he was named as Jordan North’s replacement on the Going Home show in March 2024 after North departed the station to host Capital's Breakfast Show.

Is Jamie Laing heir to the McVities fortune?

You may have heard the tidbit before that the family of reality star-turned-radio DJ are responsible for one of the UK’s biggest confectionery companies. Jamie is in fact the great-great-grandson of Scottish businessman Sir Alexander Grant, who created the McVitie’s digestive biscuit in 1892.

While Jamie is related to the businessman, he is not heir to the McVitie’s fortune. Jamie told the High Performance podcast: “People think I’m heir to McVitie’s and that I’m inheriting all of these billions and millions, or my parents helped me get into retailers. That is not true.

“And as I say this, I know I’m going to be nailed for it - but when we started Candy Kittens, we started with £3,000. Our parents didn’t believe in the vision because why the hell would you believe a 21 and 22-year-old that their sweet company is going to work.

“They were like ‘Okay, go have fun kids!’. And we had to, like every business, find ways to make money to sell things, to market ourselves. The huge advantage we had over other businesses was that I was on a television show, which was a huge risk at the time because it was about being posh and people either loved it or hated it, there was no real inbetween.”

Who is Jamie Laing married to?

Jamie is married to his former Made In Chelsea co-star Sophie Habboo. The pair began dating in April 2019 and, despite a cheating scandal involving Jamie which was documented on Made In Chelsea, the Jamie and Sophie later moved in together before becoming engaged in 2021.

The couple married in a ceremony in London on April 14, 2023. Jamie and Sophie travelled to Marbella a month later to take part in a second wedding in front of family and friends.

Jamie and Sophie host their own podcast called NewlyWeds, on which they open up about their relationship and solve relationship issues of listeners.