JJ CHALMERS and his cycling legend pal Sir Chris Hoy hope to land TV roles together at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow – after captivating fans with their coverage of last summer’s Olympics.
Ex-Royal Marine JJ was part of the BBC’s presenting team in Paris, while determined Sir Chris critiqued performances just months after revealing he has prostate cancer.
Six-times Olympic gold medal winner Sir Chris, 48, later revealed his illness was terminal after spreading to his bones, and said he had two to four years left to live.
But that has not stopped him embracing sporting opportunities.
JJ, 38, says: “Chris and I are very good friends and I had a sense of the circumstances he’d been living through for quite a while.
“But Chris was so determined that he would make it to Paris. He kept saying that he wanted to be there. I’m so glad he made it as he did such an amazing job.”
Asked if they hope to work together again covering track cycling at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome when the Commonwealth Games returns to Glasgow next year, JJ adds: “Oh, God, yeah.
“We did the World Cycling Championships in Glasgow in 2023, but I’m delighted The Commonwealth Games are coming back. They are an amazing event.
“I adored the Birmingham Games. Chris worked at the (2014) Glasgow Games, but I wasn’t even in broadcasting the last time they were here, so that’ll be special.”
Edinburgh-born JJ — real name John-James — was seriously injured in a 2011 bomb blast in Helmand Province which killed two of his comrades.
He suffered a broken neck, crushed eye socket, shattered eardrum, a “mangled” elbow and lost two fingers.
But he rebuilt his life after more than 30 major operations and went on to win cycling medals at pal Prince Harry’s inaugural Invictus Games in 2014.
Incredibly, it was his devastating injuries that saw him fulfil a childhood ambition to become a TV presenter.
The married dad-of-two says: “I’d always wanted to get into TV but had no idea how.
“But when I did the Invictus Games, it involved being interviewed on telly.
“So my entry into the industry was providing an insight to competitions like the Paralympic Games.
“Now I’m seen as a presenter first and foremost, then a presenter with a disability after that.”
JJ became a true household name in 2020 when he made it to the quarter finals of Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Amy Dowden.
And he believes the long-running BBC show still has a future, despite the bullying storm involving pro Giovanni Pernice and actress Amanda Abbington.
JJ says: “I’ve got no personal insight into those circumstances.
“But obviously, I’ve been through the Strictly process myself.
“It is a difficult process, it isn’t just a bit of fun. It’s a tough gig to do. I certainly felt it both physically and mentally, too, because of the social media battering you take.
“There’s a lot of noise when you’re on that show as everyone’s got an opinion. So you have to have a very thick skin to survive it.
“But when it actually starts running, it’s just a pure joy on a Saturday night. And you only had to watch this year’s 20th series to realise how much people still enjoyed it.”
JJ has pushed his body to its limits throughout his career and would love a shot at Celebrity Gladiators — though he reckons his surgeon would rule it out. He explains: “I’m in pain all the time, it’s just to what degree.
“My body is restricted by the level of pain I can endure.
“So, yeah, it stops me doing some stuff in life but, equally, I try not to let it stop me.
“It’s a choice. If I want to go out and exercise, whatever that might be, I’m going to pay for it later.
“Equally, exercise is good for my mental health, so you’ve got to strike that balance.”
He adds: “Gladiators is one of the few shows that you can sit down and watch with the whole family.
“In a world where everyone’s now watching their own thing, it has that ability to bring people together to sit down and watch together.
“I’d be so up for doing it, but my body would never be able to stand it. My surgeon would also immediately say no.”
Despite his own condition, JJ insists he has nothing but admiration for how Sir Chris handled his terminal cancer diagnosis, while his lawyer wife Sarra, 40, discovered she has incurable multiple sclerosis at the same time.
DANNI ‘RIVAL’ IN SCHOOL
A PLACE In The Sun star Danni Menzies was JJ Chalmers’ “rival” when they were kids, he jokingly revealed.
The pair, inset, were at Strathallan School, Perth, together. Danni, 36, later became godmother to JJ’s son James, five.
JJ, who lives in Edinburgh with wife Kornelia and also has a daughter Hayley, eight, says: “I went to school with Danni.
“We used to have a pretty fierce rivalry in our design and technology class.
“But she’s now godmother to my son, so we’re as tight as they come.”
JJ says he would love to one day land a high-octane hosting gig with Danni.
He adds: “We have presented the Edinburgh Tattoo together, but we would love to do a wonderful adventure-type programme or something like that.
“Live telly especially is my happy place, which is a bit of a random thing because, let’s be honest, it’s about the most terrifying thing you can do in broadcasting – but I adore it.”
While JJ and Kornelia have been married since 2015, his mate Danni still does not appear to have found Mr Right.
He says: “Do you know what? She deserves the perfect man – and one day she’ll find him.”
JJ says: “Both Chris and his wonderful wife Sarra have been unbelievably stoic and unbelievably hopeful throughout all of it.
“And it’s because they’re doing everything they possibly can to take on this battle. Chris knows what it’s like to dig in, get on with something and live with hard circumstances as he’s done it all his life.”
Now JJ is excited by the prospect of reuniting with the most successful Olympic cyclist of all time on future projects.
He says: “When it comes to sport, I’m just an enthusiast. I’m not going to sit next to Chris Hoy and try to tell him anything about bikes or riding them. But I can get the information out of him for the viewer at home.
“Not that Chris needs much encouragement as just talking about cycling brings him sheer joy.
“In fact, it makes him happier than just about anything, so of course I’m looking forward to working with him again.”
