You Have Loved ‘Geordie Shore’ (And James Tinsdale) For 10 Years
No one has had a wilder decade than James Tinsdale. The Geordie lad from the hit MTV spinoff has seen it all: fights, proposals, breakups, tash ons, and many, many mortal nights.
It’s been 10 whole years since James first entered our orbit with the fateful words “the hardest graft I’ve ever done is doing me hair” – we thought it time to check in with the Geordie fave on just what “one of the best looking lads in Newcastle, if not England” makes of his time in the chaotic world of Geordie Shore.
On how James Tinsdale joined 'Geordie Shore':
It happened at such a young age for me. When I first started the show I was 19, just about to turn 20. And that was my life from then on. It was crazy.
When [MTV producers] first went about telling everyone that Geordie Shore was going to be a new thing in Newcastle, no one really thought anything of it. They thought, ‘Oh, yeah, it's just going to be a show where you're going to live with another three lads and four girls.’ And it's just getting your night's out paid for, really, that's the way I looked at it.
I was always out in the bars and stuff anyway, because I worked in a few of them. No one thought it was going to be anything big, we thought it was just going to be a bit of a laugh. Everyone wanted to do it just for an experience and then we would have went on with our lives as normal. When I got told I was on it, I booked three and a half weeks holiday off work, and then thought, ‘Well, I'm going to go and do this, and then I'm going to go back home’.
Obviously once we filmed [the first season], we went to London, and then MTV were just like, ‘Right, so this is your job now. You all need to quit your jobs.’ I was like ‘What? This is crazy.’ When we filmed, we didn't actually think it was going to make it to TV, let alone [have] millions of people viewing, and for it to last so long and be on in so many countries. It was just mental. We could never have prepared ourselves for how big it got.
On James’ relationships with the OG ‘Geordie Shore’ cast:
I made bonds with originals because we started all together. We went from nothing to blowing up. It's crazy, a once-in-a-lifetime dream. So, we'll always be like a family.
Everyone's went off in their own direction, doing their own things. But at the end of the day, everyone's still the same. No one's really changed, from the people that I see, anyway. It's still just as fun as it was 10 years ago. I'm really close to Charlotte, Sophie, Aaron and Scottie, and then, obviously, I'm still friends with Jay and Ricky.
On what ever happened to Greg:
I don't really speak to Greg anymore. We were good friends, me and Greg! I really like Greg. He was quite a bit older than us. I was 20, he was 27, so he's 37 or 38 now. I think he's got kids and stuff. A lot of people's got kids. I'm not quite ready yet. I've got a couple more years, I'm not in a hurry [to settle down].
On his Geordie persona on camera:
A lot of people thought I was arrogant [when I first joined the show], but I wasn't at all. I look back at the way I was, and I wasn't shy, but because I was so young (I was the youngest out of all the boys by a good few years), I was kind of... It was a bit like forced confidence, and I was trying to live up to a role. It wasn't until a few years later that I actually found myself properly and just felt a lot more comfortable with it.
On having a relationship in the ‘Geordie Shore’ house:
I was so bored when I had a relationship [with ex Kate Thorne, in the house]. I hated it. I just don't watch that series. I don't watch that series because I just can't because I'm just like, ‘Come on, James. Do something’. And then I left the show soon after.
Geordie Shore is a single person place, especially if you're seeing someone who doesn't understand TV, doesn't get the whole concept, doesn't know what you're there for. It doesn't really work. You've got to be single to do Geordie Shore. I've learned that lesson.
When I was in a relationship [on the show], I felt like I was always watching my back, watching what I said, didn't get myself in situations, didn't get too close to certain people and stuff, but now I've returned to the show and I’m single, I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. It's a breath of fresh air, honestly.
Watch James Tinsdale return to Geordie Shore:
On the past 10 years:
I've had the best twenties anyone could ever ask for. I've done everything, and I feel like I'm not ever going to look back and be like, ‘Oh, I wish I hadn't done this, or I wish I hadn't done this…’ I feel like I have done everything.
The best moment I've ever had in Geordie Shore? Well, the first series was amazing, meeting everyone for the first time. I loved that, I made friends, family for life. I loved the third series when we went over to Cancun – that was my first ever proper trip abroad, six weeks in Cancun for spring break, so you can imagine that was amazing. We did Australia a couple of times, that was unbelievable, that series we done in Australia. One of the series, we done a bucket list series. So, everything we wanted to do in life, we managed to tick off. I flew a plane and a few different other things.
On whether it feels like 10 years of ‘Geordie Shore’:
When I filmed the first-ever series, that does not feel like 10 years ago. It feels like maybe four or five years ago. But then when I think of all the hangovers, and all the parties and stuff… Yeah, it's probably been 10 years.
The new season of Geordie Shore is out now. Download new episodes on Apple TV here and catch up on past seasons here.
Words and interview by Alice Griffin, editor of this very site. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
