BBC Radio One star Arielle Free says she is a weegie and Glasgow made her streetwise

The bubbly radio presenter left her hometown of Stirling to attend the city’s prestigious Dance School of Scotland at Knightswood Secondary – and the move has left a lasting impression.

“Everyone who speaks to me asks where I am from, I say Glasgow.

“Your teenage years are the ones that shape you, aren’t they? I moved to Glasgow when I was 10.

“I will always say I am a weegie because I think that is where my personality comes from.

“Growing up in Glasgow made me streetwise, it made me not take life too seriously and it made me have the gift of the gab which I have gone on to make a career out of,” she laughed.

Last year, the 33-year-old London-based Scot landed her dream job hosting BBC Radio 1’s early breakfast weekend shows.

Although she has bouts of homesickness, she was recently back in her ‘native’ Glasgow to film a new dating show Love Song for the BBC Scotland channel.

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Described by Arielle as ‘X-Factor meets Take Me Out,’ Love Song will give singletons with a voice the chance to meet the partner of their dreams through singing.

The four-part series will showcase some of Scotland’s best vocal talent as well as help the singletons find their true match.

“I challenge anyone to watch this show and not come away with a smile on their face,” beamed Arielle.

She continued: “It is quite unique to have a big entertainment show made in Scotland, I think this will open a lot of doors for other productions.

“It is people genuinely trying to find love in a world of dating apps.

“I am a hopeless romantic. I live for people to lock eyes in the queue at Tesco or wherever then the next thing is they are married and having kids.”

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As a woman surrounded by romance – Arielle also co-hosts the Love Island podcast with former contestant Kem Cetinay – you would think the gorgeous Scot was used to be serenaded.

But her own last big romantic moment actually happened when she was at Knightswood Secondary – and we will save her blushes by not sharing her admirers’ name.

She laughed: “Scots are romantic. I remember – Oh God – when I was in High School, a boy bought me roses, a teddy bear and a card. I have still not had a Valentine’s Day present as good as that. Goes to show you.”

Luckily for Arielle, she gets serenaded in other ways. For every time she comes home, her grandpa insists on picking her up.

She said: “My grandpa is in East Kilbride, he will always pick me up from the airport or Glasgow Central. He will not let anyone else pick me up it has to be him.”

When she is home Arielle likes to catch up with family – her brother lives in Dennistoun and her sister is Stirling-based – and friends.

“If I get to the train station, I hear the Glasgow accent instantly I am so excited to go home,” she said.

She continued: “I mean the nightlife for me is unbelievable. You can go out any night in Glasgow and there will still be a bar or club that is open.

“It is definitely where I found my djing inspiration.

“I would live in Glasgow in a heartbeat if Radio One had studios there.”

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Luckily enough for Arielle, she is still getting opportunities to come home with most of Love Song filmed in the city’s Classic Grand and The Corinthian.

She said: “We did it over a couple of weeks and I had friends watch it in the audience.

“I was worried it was going to be a wee bit cheesy maybe or it could have been done in a really rubbish way. The way we did it was so good.

“I saw a few of them after their dates and they had a wee twinkle in their eye.”

She added: “I am 100 percent there is going to be at a Love Song marriage and baby. I’m just saying it now.”

Watch Love Song on the BBC Scotland Channel on Thursday, February 13 at 10 pm.