All the Best for the Future: Growing Up Without Growing Old

by Greg James

When Greg James was ten years old, his nylon shell suit-clad idols the Chuckle Brothers ('to me, to you') signed an autograph (from them, to him) with the message 'All the best for the future.’ It was a weirdly formal message for a kid. Ten-year-old Greg had no idea what the future held, no clue what was in store for him as he carried on through life. How could he? No one really knows what's coming.

We all have big dreams and small ones, ideas about how we want our lives to pan when you'll get married, where you'll live, how many children you want, what you want to be when you grow up. We race through the milestones, desperate to unlock life's next level and before you know it, you’re a ‘grown up'. That’s all well and good but have you remembered to have fun along the way?

Whether it's entertaining the nation with his hugely popular BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show, writing big funny adventures for kids with his bestselling children's books, finding the joy in cricket and F1 in his podcasts Tailenders and The Fast and the Curious, or posting stupid videos of his adorable but quite thick dog Barney, Greg’s focus is to put a smile on people's faces because, let's face it, having fun is something we all forget to prioritise sometimes.

In All the Best for the Future, Greg looks at how he thought his life would go and shares the things that wind him up, make him sad, make him laugh and the little passions and interests that he relies on to get him through the day - whether it was a good one or a bad one. He tells us who he is, who he thought he'd be and who he still thinks he could be. Most of all though, his message for everyone is not to let go of that inner child as he navigates how to grow up without growing old. It’s possible to be fully functioning adults, with bills to pay and a dog to look after, and still find time to play with a train set...

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Self Help, Comedy, Memoir

317 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 25, 2025

Reviews

[Hayley Williams]

3 stars because he hates cats

[Jenny Jones]

listening to the audio book and it's immediately comforting, funny and making me question my life choices - in a good way. like an old friend giving you good advice. brilliant.

[Mya]

I really recommend the audiobook, particularly to anyone who would describe themselves as a precocious, mature, or anxious child, and wants to live their life in a more lighthearted, non-patriarchal-heteronormative way. Covers lots of different topics in an important yer light-hearted way, such as mental health, patriarchy, and ageing. There are lots of great reminders that life is now, and prioritising fun and connection is what life is all about. Being familiar with Greg from the radio, the audiobook is a great way to listen and it captures the personality of him and the book. Very easy and enjoyable listen.

[Daniella]

Scared to put my honest thoughts incase my pals are a fan, I need to caveat I do like Greg James on radio, just feel it came across a bit judgemental towards others and how they choose to live their life. It didn't add any value to mine whatsoever.

[Nia Vines]

Love Greg and appreciate the sentiment of this book but found it read a little too much like the internal monologue of his brain and could have done with some fine tuning. Maybe a harsh review given I’m not really an autobiography person.

[Avi Virdee]

Utterly obsessed with this man

[Amy]

I love Greg so I think maybe I just missed the point of this? Seemed much more autobiographical than it was marketed as in my opinion, and while that is interesting, I found it very repetitive! An easy listen and some funny anecdotes, but also very forgettable.

[Andrew Macdonald]

This was like a nice gentle reminder to have fun, do what you enjoy, hang out with people you like, and not take life too seriously

[Charlotte Ainslie]

I don't even know why I started this, I knew exactly how it was going to be. But alas, I did.

I don't mind Greg James but not sure on what basis he should be giving out life advice. I'm sure it's easy to write a chapter on "the art of not giving a fuck" when you're paid £430k a year. In said chapter, he encourages readers to have a "waste day". He then goes on to document his own waste day, spent on the beach in the South of France. Relatable.

I found it a bit repetitive, a bit hypocritical and very egocentric. On the plus, at least he shares my strong opinions on Tartare cheese (+++) and destination weddings (---).

[Eve Felstead]

Listened to the audiobook while doing bedtime, I knew I was enjoying it when I realised baby fell asleep ages ago and I’ve just been sat in the pitch black for nearly an hour x full of nostalgia, lols and comfort x

[Emilie]

a lovely hug of an audiobook!

[Georgie Mudd]

A monologue of Greg James’ thoughts about life, what’s not to enjoy? 4*

[Ely Green]

Not having grown up in the UK, I’ve always felt very disconnected from mainstream British celebs and media characters. And as someone who only has BBC Radio 6 playing at home (my hubby has eccentric music tastes), The Greg James Breakfast Show has this far evaded me. I settled on this book because the blurb made it sound engaging and funny, and I must admit I voted for it in our book club because who doesn’t like the idea of a book that reminds you to go touch some grass in the trash heap fire that is life in the 21st century.

In fact, I must admit that I had never even heard Greg’s voice before the audiobook (I listened to the first half which was admittedly better - before my Spotify credits ran out for the month - before switching over to the physical copy, which on paper becomes drier and less like an enjoyable 'stream of consciousness').

However, it was a bit of a repetitive, meandering mess. Sure, the spirit of the book was uplifting; some points were agreeable (nobody should have a destination wedding, ever), and some of the anecdotes were chuckle-worthy (the Lord’s Prayer changed over to Long Boi? Hysterical). But the vast majority came across as… very, very out of touch with how most of us mere mortals live. All fine and dandy for Greg James to tell us to go give our kids or dogs away for a day to indulge in a quote-unquote 'Waste Day,' which he then goes on to describe for himself as consisting of eating flan, cheese, and wine in a French château.

I don’t know if being so pompously full of himself is part of his tongue-in-cheek shtick, but by the sixth time he called himself a minor national treasure and warned us not to publicly declare disliking his book, I low-key wanted to be listening to his breakfast show just so I could spitefully turn the radio off.

It was a weird cross over between a self help book slash a memoir slash a soapbox for his own accolades without ever fully settling in a lane (and why keep talking about divorcing his wife whom he also apparently adores?). Not quite the one for me. On to the next one.

[Sarah]

Exactly as I'd hoped it would be. Top work Gregory.

[Sophie Langley]

Audiobooked it 🔉 I've loved Greg for years (decades) so it was really nice to listen to him talk about life thingz

[Lucy Hicks Beach]

Like listening to 7 hours of the breakfast show without the music I don’t like

[helen]

greg james is the best (I listened to the audio book but that still counts)

[Jenny Westerman]

Recommend the audiobook - I laughed out loud countless times and have been left with a warm feeling in my tummy!

[Kerry]

Reading this felt like spending a long, boozy dinner at the pub with a funny, smart and successful radio pal. I love Greg’s outlook on life and it comes through so much in the tone that I just inhaled this book. Brought it with me on a winter seaside trip and now I can’t bear to look at my stuffy literary novels. Everything will feel boring compared to this for a few days.

[Matt Simpson]

Greg James is my guilty pleasure but most of this was absolute dross.

[Becca Halse]

100% recommend the audio book. Not sure I'd have enjoyed reading it as much as I did listening!

[Sophie Blinston]

4⭐️

I have no flaws for this book but I just can't give it 5 stars but I am not sure why.

I really enjoyed this audiobook and it is (finally) my first non fiction of the year so I can tick it off my bingo card. I really loved how lighthearted and funny this book was, I was snorting air out my nose quite a lot on my drives. Greg really hit the balance between humorous and also wisdom. I enjoyed the audiobook exclusive bits and just thoroughly enjoyed the anecdotes and stories from greg.

[Hayley✨✨]

Absolutely loved this autobiography! Promised myself I'd read/listen to one this year and when I heard Greg James had released his own I had to get it and oh my what a listen. So much humour and also truth in everything! Would 100% listen to this again and highly recommend it to anyone! this was an audible and Greg James narrates it which made it even better and more real. Thank you was so good!

[Izzy Pincher]

4.5 ⭐️ I just love Greg James. Nice themes and reminders to read especially at the start of the new year. But not the best memoir I’ve ever read and can understand why other reviews say to listen to the audiobook. Overall funny and an easy read.

[Aisling]

I really enjoyed this !! Super funny and easy to read x

[Maddie P]

Audiobook is a must! Warm, funny and wholesome

[Katie]

I really enjoyed this, a reminder that life isn’t that serious and prioritising the fun and silly aspects of it would do us all some good. I found the humour laced through this a bit too on the nose for my liking but who knows maybe that’s me defeating the point of the whole book! Despite this, Greg’s outlook on life was uplifting and this book will encourage me to acknowledge the small things day to day that make up the bigger picture.

[George]

3.6.

Pretty decent, some good laugh out loud moments more towards the beginning. Enjoyed the “being a parent” sections.

It did feel preachy in parts though, and I’m not sure he’s as qualified as he thinks he is. And definitely not as likeable.

Its central premise is ‘see the fun in everything’ but many don’t have that luxury.

[Nick William]

Used to be an avid listener of Greg during his afternoon slot, and early breakfast show days (until I grew out of the music). Really liked this book. Some ultimately great takes on silliness and how we should just try and choose silly as the option. Plenty of nostalgia in the book too. Very easy read and made me like him even more. Thanks, Greg.

[Laura]

I feel I should start this by saying I adored Greg James in my late teens and early twenties. I listened to Drivetime as often as I could, at university, in my freezing flat, whilst I wrote essays (variable quality: not his fault) and worried. His style of radio, the silly games and choice of music was so soothing to my slightly addled brain.

This book, and choosing to listen to the audio version, was the balm I needed now, sort of like I did back then. It’s a book about adulthood and childhood and how the two aren’t really unrelated. That it’s okay to be the same person you were then, but with a more adult approach. That you can be geeky, shy, worried, silly and obsessed and passionate with bonkers things just because you are. That it’s better to be 100% whoever you are than 10% someone’s idea of you and who you should be because adulthood tells you so.

It was truly a delight to listen to and it just felt like being a 20 year old scared uni student, listening to the Mayor of Where whilst trying to find the right source about the evolution of malaria and panicking about the future. Thanks, Gregory.