Vernon Kay has explained the origin of his colleague's nickname after a listener accused him of being disrespectful. During his BBC Radio 2 morning show, the 52-year-old presenter read out a letter from a listener named Jack from Bolton, who objected to Kay referring to Janine Maya-Smith as "Janice-Janine".
Jack wrote: "Hi Vernon team. Well, I'm very unhappy at Janice-Janine additional name. I don't think adding thingy at the end is respectful at all. She's a great person and comes across beautifully on the radio. Rude. Just RUDE. Please, cease forthwith."
The story behind the nickname
Vernon explained that the nickname originated from an event he attended in Scotland with Phil McGarvey and Janine. A group of fans in Stirling, who were from the Shetlands, recognised Phil's nickname "Pmac" but struggled with Janine's name.
Vernon said: "There was a group of young ladies in Stirling. They were from, can you remember where they were from, Janice-Janine thingy?" Janine added: "The Shetlands."
Vernon continued: "They were introduced to Pmac. They knew Pmac's name, they were very excited and they knew your name, but it didn't come out as Janice-Janine." Janine said: "They were a bit excited." Vernon added: "They were very excited. They said, 'Oh, it's Pmac and… thingy!' So that's where it comes from."
How Janine got her original nickname
Vernon also explained that Janine's original nickname came from a colleague named Jeremy, who had worked with her for more than 25 years and forgot her name. He said: "You've got to remember the reason why we called Janine Janice is because Jeremy, who you've worked with for more than 25 years, actually forgot your name, so that's why you have the moniker Janice-Janine, and now, thingy."
Vernon reassured listeners that Janine would not receive any additional nicknames, saying: "We're not going to add any more because it takes time. Time on this show is very, very precious." He added: "So there you go, Jack, don't take offence because Janice-Janine is alright with it. Thingy over there is cool and the gang."
