Duncan James | |
|---|---|
 James in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Duncan Matthew James Inglis (1978-04-07)7 April 1978 (age 47) |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Innocent |
Partner | Rodrigo Reis |
Duncan Matthew James Inglis (born 7 April 1978) is an English singer, actor and television presenter. He is a member of the boy bandBlue and later played the role ofRyan Knight in the British soap operaHollyoaks.
James grew up inDorset as an only child, and was raised primarily by his mother Fiona Inglis[1][2] and his grandparents, after his father abandoned his mother before he was born.[3] He was raised a "strict Catholic"[4] and educated atDumpton School inWimborne (where his grandfather worked as a music teacher),[5] Milldown School (Blandford Forum),Corfe Hills School (Broadstone), andSidmouth College (East Devon).
At the age of 15 he playedPuck inA Midsummer Night's Dream andDr Watson inSherlock Holmes for Sidmouth Youth Theatre.
James, along withAntony Costa, convincedLee Ryan andSimon Webbe in early 2000 to form the group Blue.[6] Blue'sR&B-influenced pop allowed the group to achieve commercial success in the United Kingdom and many other countries, including Ireland, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, France, Australia and New Zealand. The band released their debut single "All Rise" in May 2001 and it reached No. 4 on theUK Singles Chart. Their follow up single, "Too Close", was released in August 2001 peaking at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. They went on to achieve a second number one in November with the ballad "If You Come Back". The albumAll Rise was released in time for Christmas and reached number one on theUK Albums Chart, eventually selling in excess of 1.8 million albums in the UK. The final single from the album, "Fly By II", reached No. 6 in March 2002.
Their second studio album,One Love, was released in October 2002; it entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1 and sold more than 150,000 copies. Three singles were released from the album: "One Love", which peaked at No. 3, "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word", featuring vocals fromElton John, which peaked at No. 1, and "U Make Me Wanna", which peaked at No. 4.[7] Their third studio album,Guilty, was released in autumn 2003; it too entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1, and sold 100,000 copies in the week of release. The album spawned four singles, including "Guilty", which peaked at No. 2, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours", featuring vocals fromStevie Wonder andAngie Stone, which peaked at No. 11, "Breathe Easy", which peaked at No. 4, and "Bubblin'", which peaked at No. 9.[8]
Two compilation albumsBest of Blue and4ever Blue were released in 2004 and 2005 respectively.4ever Blue included three tracks only previously performed in Japan: "The Gift", "It's Alright" and "Elements". It is indicated in the album booklet that a live version of "Lonely This Christmas" from the TV showCD:UK was intended to be track seven on the album; however, this was removed from the track listing for unknown reasons. The album was available in several European countries, as well as Japan, Thailand[9] and China; however, it was a commercial failure, and failed to chart anywhere. The album was not released in the UK, despite copies being widely available.[why?][citation needed]
James returned to the music scene in May 2006 with his solo single "Sooner or Later", releasing the video in early May and planning to release the single commercially on 5 June 2006. The video reached No. 2 onThe Box and No. 5 onThe Hits. However, the single was no commercial success and entered the British charts at No. 35, before slipping down to No. 72 in its second week. "Can't Stop a River" was James's next single. Released on 21 August 2006, the track only reached No. 59 in the UK and No. 97 in Ireland. In continental Europe, where "Can't Stop a River" was released a day earlier than in the UK, it similarly proved unpopular, dropping out of the singles charts in many countries such as France, Turkey, Germany, and Belgium. James' album also fell short, selling less than 1,000 copies in the UK in its first week (and failing to reach the Top 50). The album sold a total of 412,350 copies around the world.[citation needed]
Although his debut albumFuture Past did not do as well as hoped (except in Italy, where it reached No. 2 on the chart and was certified platinum for shipments of 80,000 copies), on 2 February 2007, music channel B4 premièred the video for "Amazed", his new single which was scheduled to be released on 12 March 2007. However, there was once again a lack of interest. The release was cancelled and James was dropped from his recording contract. He has since announced he has quit his solo career. In 2007 he appeared in the West End production ofChicago.[10] He completed ten more weeks inChicago from 10 December 2007 until 9 February 2008.[11] He appeared in an episode ofThe Bill entitled "The Morning After", which aired on 1 January 2009. It was confirmed in February 2009 that James had been selected to replaceDenise Van Outen as presenter ofGrease: The School Musical, the sequel toHairspray: The School Musical. Filming commenced in early 2009.
In May 2009, James announced the UK's voting in theEurovision Song Contest. He presentedHannah-Oke onDisney Channel UK, a singing and dancing contest based on the popularDisney TV seriesHannah Montana. He also appeared onCelebrityAre You Smarter Than A 10 Year Old? and raised £10,000 for his charities. In 2006, James appeared with the other members of the boybandBlue on 26 June episode ofMinistry of Mayhem, where James and the other band members were all hypnotised by UKstage hypnotist David Days.[12]
James has worked occasionally as a television presenter, having presented the 95.8 Capital FM'sParty in the Park for thePrince's Trust (2003 and 2004), andITV2's coverage of the TV seriesSoapstar Superstar, along withJayne Middlemiss. His other presenting work includesPop City Live,Variety Club Showbusiness Awards 2004,T4 Movie Special: Spider-Man 2,Record of the Year: Downloaded andGMTV'sEntertainment Today.
He took part on ITV1'sDancing on Ice in 2007, when he made it to the grand final alongside rugby playerKyran Bracken and actressClare Buckfield. He came third in the contest, although was unable to perform hisBolero performance. In 2007, James played himself in the pilot episode ofPlus One, which was part ofChannel 4'sComedy Showcase. A full series was broadcast in 2009, in which he played a broadcaricature of himself called "Duncan From Blue". He made an appearance on a new show forSky One,Guinness World Records Smashed, performing with Festival4Stars contestants.[13] It aired in November 2008. In 2008 he became an Ambassador of Festival4Stars talent competition after he judged a national final.[13] James was cast as one of the leads in the musicalLegally Blonde (adapted from the filmLegally Blonde) as it transferred from Broadway to London's West End in December 2009.[14] He played oppositeSheridan Smith as Elle, andAoife Mulholland as Brooke.[15] In December 2009, James appeared as Warner Huntington III in the West End production ofLegally Blonde.[16] He appeared as a celebrity guest on 14 August 2009 onDaily Cooks Challenge.[17]
In 2010, James presented the quiz showScream if You Know the Answer! where the contestants have to answer questions whilst on rollercoasters. In July 2010 he was a judge onDon't Stop Believing, a talent show for choirs. He has his own radio show on95.8 Capital FM, every Sunday from 7–10 pm.[citation needed]
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The bandrepresented the UK at the2011 Eurovision Song Contest inDüsseldorf with the song "I Can" coming in 11th place with 100 points. Blue released their fourth studio album,Roulette on 25 January 2013 with "Hurt Lovers" as the lead single. On 21 February 2013, it was confirmed that the group would be joiningThe Big Reunion, a TV series in which six groups from the past, includingLiberty X,Atomic Kitten and5ive, reform for a one-off gig. Beginning in May 2013, the group were to tour Great Britain and Ireland with the other groups inThe Big Reunion concert series.[18] On 27 March 2013 the group announced they would embark on their first headlining tour later on in the year, their first tour in nearly ten years. On Sunday 29 May 2022 James performed at Durham Pride 2022 as the headline act.[citation needed] In September 2023, James released the duet "That's What Friends Are For" withDenise van Outen. The single, in aid ofMacmillan Cancer Support, was recorded in tribute to their friend, singerSarah Harding, who died from breast cancer in 2021.[19]
From 2002 to 2005, James dated the model Claire Grainger, with whom he has a daughter born in February 2005.[20][21][22][23][24] On 12 July 2009, Jamescame out asbisexual in an interview fromNews of the World.[25] In 2014, however, he declared that he is agay man.[26][27] In 2014,Lee Ryan claimed that he had a regular sexual relationship with James during the band's early years.[28][29]
Since 2019 he has been dating Brazilian photographer Rodrigo Reis.[30][31][32]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Bo' Selecta! | Himself | Episode: "Blue" |
| 2006–2007 | Soapstar Superstar: Extra Tracks | Presenter | |
| 2007 | Dancing on Ice | Contestant | Series 2 |
| DanceX | Billy Flynn | Episode: "4 August 2007" | |
| Comedy Showcase | Himself | Episode: "Plus One" | |
| 2009 | The Bill | Dan Coleman | Episode: "The Morning After" |
| Plus One | Duncan | Main role | |
| Grease: The School Musical | Judge | ||
| Hannah-Oke | Presenter | ||
| 2010 | Don't Stop Believing | Judge | |
| 2010–2011 | Scream! If You Know the Answer | Presenter | |
| 2012 | Spy | Presenter | |
| 2016 | Pointless Celebrities | Contestant | Christmas special |
| 2016–2018 | Hollyoaks | Ryan Knight | Main role |
| 2021 | Celebs on the Farm | Contestant[33] | Series 3 |
| The Celebrity Circle | Contestant | ||
| Celebrity Masterchef | Contestant | Series 16 | |
| 2025 | Celebrity Hunted | Contestant |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Help | Jogger |
| 2024 | A European Christmas | Freddie Buttons |
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [34] | GER [35] | IRE [36] | ITA [37] | JPN [38] | SCO [39] | SWI [40] | ||
| Future Past |
| 55 | 68 | 55 | 2 | 29 | 72 | 59 |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [34] | BEL [41] | EUR [42] | GER [43] | IRE [44] | ITA [37] | SCO [39] | SWI [40] | |||||||
| "I Believe My Heart" (withKeedie) | 2004 | 2 | 66 | 8 | 67 | 29 | 13 | 3 | 49 | I Believe My Heart | ||||
| "Sooner or Later" | 2006 | 35 | 52 | — | — | — | 3 | 19 | — | Future Past | ||||
| "Can't Stop a River" | 59 | — | — | — | — | 23 | 32 | — | ||||||
| "Amazed" | — | — | — | — | — | 41 | — | — | ||||||
| "That's What Friends Are For"(withDenise van Outen) | 2023 | —[a] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Greatest Love of All"[46] (featuringRachel Stevens) | 2009 | Charity single |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
