CHEESY listening; ROCK CHICK JO'S GUILTY PLEASURES EXCLUSIVE.

Byline: By CLARE RAYMOND

ASK any self-respecting rock fan to name the coolest mum on the planet and they'll probably say Jo Whiley.

But the achingly trendy Radio 1 DJ has a shameful secret. Although she hangs out at festivals and parties into the early hours with Coldplay and the Arctic Monkeys, her record collection is pure cheese.

"I love Dolly Parton's Nine To Five, Glen Campbell's Rhinestone Cowboy and anything by The Bee Gees and John Denver," she confesses. "My whole iPod is one complete guilty pleasure."

And she also owns up to being gutted at losing out on her dream job - presenting the country's squarest radio show, Desert Island Discs.

"I had lunch with Kirsty Young after she got the job and I told her 'You bitch! I wanted it!'" she reveals.

Now mum-of-three Jo, who hosts a morning show on Radio 1, is set to add to her workload with a round-up of live music on Wednesday nights.

But she says building her career while bringing up her kids - India, 14, Jude, seven, and five-year-old Cass - is a breeze as her dad Martin, a former electrician, looks after them during the day.

"I finish work, get on the train and pick the boys up from school at 3pm," she says. "But I do have to make decisions about whether to go to premieres, parties or gigs."

And at 41, Jo, who is married to band manager Steve Morton, 42, says she would love another baby. "I always wanted hundreds of children," she says, "but being in bed at the same time is our biggest problem."

If Jo does get pregnant, she will undergo testing to see if her unborn child has cri du chat syndrome. Her sister Frances, 38, has the genetic condition and Jo is a carrier. She is a patron of Mencap and DJs at special gigs to raise awareness of the charity.

Jo's life is one of extremes - she didn't get to bed until 4am this morning after DJing in Wales but has a bad neck after doing headstands on a beach with her kids at the weekend.

Her 15-year marriage has remained solid in a rocky industry while her contemporaries Zoe Ball and Sara Cox have had problems.

"The men I have crushes on are usually the actors who come in, anyone with an ounce of charisma like Jake Gyllenhaal. Musicians are way too complicated."

IN the 15 years she's been a fixture at Radio 1 it's changed an awful lot. "There are tons more girls - people like Edith Bowman," she says.

"When I started out the station was full of people like Simon Bates, Dave Lee Travis and Gary Davies. I would creep around like a naughty child, thinking 'I shouldn't be here.'

"Then one by one the giants left in very dramatic circumstances."

And Jo knows that one day she too will have to make room for someone younger. "I've learned as I've got older that I can't drink as much," she says. "After the Mercury awards I stayed out at the Met Bar until 3am and I was in a state when I went on air.

"I met my trainer at 8am and instead of working out he gave me two paracetamol and told me to take a shower because I stank."

JO'S new show In Live Music We Trust is on Wednesdays, 9-10pm, on Radio 1.

c.raymond@ mirror.co.uk

CAPTION(S):

CREDIBLE: Another hard day in the office for Jo' DOWN WITH THE KIDS: With India, 14