Jamie Laing has built a career that combines entrepreneurship, broadcasting and podcasting with increasingly open conversations about mental health. A long-running part of his business career is Candy Kittens, where Companies House records show that he has served as a director since 2012. Away from business, he has spoken directly about anxiety, panic attacks, therapy, body image and the personal changes that followed.
Born in November 1988, Laing was educated at Radley College before studying drama at the University of Leeds. His professional life later expanded across business ownership, radio, podcast production and public fundraising. In recent years, marriage, fatherhood and mental-health advocacy have also become prominent parts of his public life.
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | James Robin Grant Laing |
| Date of birth | 3 November 1988 |
| Age | 37 |
| Education | Radley College; studied drama at the University of Leeds |
| Business | Director and co-developer of Candy Kittens |
| Production company | Founder of JamPot Productions |
| Broadcasting | BBC Radio 1 presenter |
| Height | Self-reported as 5 ft 7 in |
| Spouse | Sophie Habboo |
| Child | Son, Ziggy |
From Radley College to Building a Public Career
Laing attended Radley College, where he has recalled enjoying rugby and developing an interest in communication. In a later interview about his school years, he credited an English teacher with influencing the way he expressed himself.
He subsequently studied drama at the University of Leeds. His professional path eventually moved into several connected areas rather than remaining centred on one occupation. He became involved in broadcasting and podcasting while developing commercial ventures, creating a career that mixed public-facing work with entrepreneurship.
By 2026, his established roles included presenting, hosting podcasts, running a production company and continuing his involvement with Candy Kittens.
How Candy Kittens Became a Long-Term Business
Candy Kittens is one of the clearest long-term strands of Laing’s professional life. Companies House records him as a director of Candy Kittens Limited from 20 January 2012.
The company developed from an idea he pursued with Ed Williams. Their aim was to create confectionery positioned towards adults rather than children, and the business continued to develop beyond its early concept.
Laing has also discussed how his understanding of business leadership changed as the company developed. He said that working with Williams taught him that leadership cannot be based only on hearing good news. Problems also need to be identified and discussed openly.
Candy Kittens later came under majority ownership by Katjes International. Public company figures have documented its commercial growth, but those figures belong to the company and do not provide a reliable measure of Laing’s personal wealth.
The Family Link Behind the McVitie’s Story
Laing does have a verified historical connection to McVitie’s, although the relationship is more specific than some popular descriptions suggest.
His great-great-grandfather Sir Alexander Grant developed the original McVitie’s Digestive biscuit recipe. The role of Grant in the biscuit’s history is recorded by Pladis, the company that owns McVitie’s.
Laing has spoken about this family connection himself. However, later interviews have challenged the frequently repeated idea that he personally inherited a vast McVitie’s fortune. The documented link is to Grant and the Digestive recipe, rather than evidence of a personal fortune passed directly to Laing.
Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Seeking Professional Help
One of Laing’s most detailed personal disclosures has concerned anxiety. He has said that he experienced his first panic attack at around the age of 21.
In a first-person account, he described a later severe panic episode that resulted in a hospital visit. He said he was subsequently diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder.
At first, he was reluctant to discuss what he was experiencing because he worried that speaking about anxiety could damage his career. He later told his mother and sought professional help.
Laing has also described experiencing depersonalisation before reaching the point at which he asked for support. His public accounts have focused less on presenting anxiety as something that simply disappeared and more on learning how to manage it.
What Therapy Changed in His Daily Life
Laing has said that he attended weekly therapy for about four years. His descriptions of the process include practical changes as well as conversations about anxiety.
He recalled being encouraged to introduce order into everyday routines. That meant completing small tasks such as making his bed, returning objects to their proper places and dealing with bills rather than repeatedly postponing them.
He associated those habits with reducing procrastination and creating a less chaotic daily environment. His broader view of therapy also changed. Rather than treating personal development as something with a definite finishing point, he came to regard it as continuing work requiring attention and self-discipline.
Body Image, Approval and Personal Growth
In 2025, Laing spoke publicly about difficulties with body image and said he had experienced an eating disorder. He did not provide a detailed clinical history, so his own account is the clearest basis for discussing that period.
He also reflected on how strongly he had sought approval when he was younger. According to Laing, much of his teens and twenties involved wanting to be popular and liked by other people.
In his thirties, he said he developed greater self-compassion. Similar reflections appeared in his own podcast, where he discussed a fear of being forgotten and a longstanding desire to be liked and remembered.
Those comments provide a more specific picture of his personal development than broad assumptions about his public personality. They are observations he has made about himself rather than labels applied by others.
Mental-Health Awareness Through Public Work
Laing’s willingness to discuss anxiety has also become part of his public fundraising work.
From 17 to 21 March 2025, he completed five ultra-marathons on five consecutive days, travelling from London to Salford for Comic Relief. The charity later recorded that the challenge raised £2,053,835.
Before the event, Laing said he wanted the physical challenge to encourage conversations about anxiety, depression and mental health. His own previous experiences gave that message a direct personal connection.
He has also written publicly about vulnerability, failure, friendship, anxiety and personal development. These subjects extend the mental-health discussion beyond isolated interviews and into his broader public work.
Podcasting, Broadcasting and Professional Development
Alongside Candy Kittens, Laing has developed a substantial role in audio and broadcasting. He founded JamPot Productions, which produces his podcast work, and hosts a long-form interview podcast focused on personal experiences and conversations with guests.
By 2026, he was also continuing his work with BBC Radio 1.
Content creation has been part of his routine for much longer. Laing has said that he was filming himself with video cameras from childhood and still enjoys creating material for an audience. He has nevertheless acknowledged that the constant demand to produce content can become tiring.
Laing has said that professional projects and personal interests often overlap in his life, and he has also remarked that he does not particularly enjoy weekends.
Marriage, Fatherhood and Changing Priorities
Laing is married to Sophie Habboo, and the couple became parents to their son, Ziggy, in December 2025.
Fatherhood has led him to speak more directly about the kind of family environment he wants to create. He has said that he and Sophie want to be present parents and that he favours giving children freedom while maintaining clear boundaries.
He has also talked about encouraging resilience and listening to children rather than continually instructing them.
Technology is another concern he has raised. Laing has expressed reservations about children’s exposure to smartphones and has acknowledged that social media can affect his own mood.
The couple’s enjoyment of travel also influenced their son’s name. Laing said Ziggy was inspired by Six Senses Zighy Bay in Oman, a hotel he and Sophie particularly liked.
Family Background and Rebuilding Relationships
Laing has described a large blended family. His mother is Penny, while his father is Nick Laing. He has identified older half-sisters Tash and Gems, an older brother named Alexander, a younger sister named Emily and a younger half-brother named George.
His relationship with his father has also featured in his more personal interviews. Laing has said that comments he made in his twenties contributed to a lengthy period in which they did not speak.
He later regretted those remarks and rebuilt the relationship in adulthood. He has also spoken about reconsidering some of the blame he had attached to his parents’ separation when he was younger.
Recent Business and Public Developments
Laing’s commercial work expanded further through developments involving Graze. In December 2025, Unilever announced an agreement to sell the snack brand to Katjes International, with Graze positioned alongside the Candy Kittens Group.
Laing publicly expressed enthusiasm about helping to develop the brand. By April 2026, reputable business reporting said the transaction had been completed.
Some reporting valued the deal at £36 million, although Unilever itself said that the financial terms were undisclosed. The official record therefore confirms the transaction, but not that reported price.
During the same period, Laing continued working across business, radio and podcasting while adjusting to fatherhood.
Interesting Facts About Jamie Laing
Laing has described himself as 5 ft 7 in tall.
Travel has also played a significant part in his life. At 18, he travelled around South America and later said that the experience helped him mature. During that trip, he said he was robbed at machete-point in Rio de Janeiro.
He has credited extensive family travel during childhood with helping develop his interest in seeing different parts of the world. His father was involved in the travel business, adding another connection to that interest.
One smaller habit Laing has disclosed is collecting hotel room cards from places he visits.
Jamie Laing’s Business Growth and Openness About Anxiety
Laing’s recent work brings together established business interests, broadcasting and podcast production with public discussion of experiences he has chosen to address directly. His Comic Relief challenge extended those conversations into fundraising, while becoming a father in late 2025 brought a new focus to his interviews about parenting and family priorities.
The clearest verified picture is of a career that has developed across several professional roles while Laing has become increasingly willing to discuss anxiety, therapy and personal growth in his own words.
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