Nick Grimshaw’s Ibizan villa was on the target list of a sedative gas gang who raided it the middle of the night as the star and his 81-year-old mother slept inside.
Grimmy, who shot to fame on BBC Radio 1 in 2012, was celebrating his 40th birthday with his mother Eileen earlier this month when robbers swooped on the home where he was staying.
The same gang is thought to have carried out similar attacks by pumping sedative gas into a property and then breaking in wearing hazmat suits.
Other celebrities claim to have been targeted in similar raids in the past with Richard Hammond and Jenson Button amongst those to have revealed their ordeals.
While Nick had rented the villa to celebrate the milestone with his family and fiancé Mesh Henry, it is believed the gang had no idea who he was and the address was targeted as it was known to be ‘used by high net worth clients’.
No one is said to have been hurt in the raid, but a number of items are thought to have been stolen
‘The gang would have had no idea who he was. Sadly it’s a case of the wrong place at the wrong time but it’s scary to say the least.’ a source told The Sun:
‘Nick was obviously upset but thought best to keep things off social media.
‘At the end of the day it was meant to be a private low key break with his family.’
Another source told The Times that Grimmy, his friends and family were asleep when the gang broke in.
‘No one knows if they were gassed or not because it all took place while the family were sleeping,’ they added.
Grimshaw was last week pictured in Ibiza enjoying a night out with his niece Liv and Mesh where they ate ice creams.
In another snap he lovingly shares a kiss with his model fiance, who has his arm placed tenderly on his shoulder.
The former Radio 1 host stars alongside Liv on Celebrity Gogglebox with his niece an assistant in merchandise for online fashion brand PrettyLittleThing.
In July, Grimshaw posted a slew of snaps from his trip, showing him partying and posing with friends.
He captioned the post: ‘If football’s coming home maybe no one will notice if I just….. stay here.’
Grimshaw became a household name in 2012 when he replaced the long-standing Chris Moyles as host of Radio 1 Breakfast show.
He went on to star on the X Factor in 2015 where he took over from Louis Walsh as a judge, however his tenure only lasted one series.
He has also appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox alongside his niece Liv, as well as the Stand Up to Cancer specials and in 2021 he appeared as a contestant on The Great British Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer.
Grimshaw is not the first celebrity to have been gassed by gangs with Richard Hammond and Jenson Button revealing their ordeals in the past.
However, medical experts in 2015 cast doubts over claims that Button and his wife Jessica were gassed as they slept during a raid on their French villa.
The pair were with friends in St Tropez when thieves broke in and stole valuables worth £300,000 including Mrs Button’s engagement ring, believed to be worth £250,000.
It was claimed the Formula One driver, 35, and his wife may have been knocked out by gas pumped into the house through air conditioning units.
A source close to Button said the Grand Prix star was ‘convinced’ that’s what happened.
They added that Button and his friends weren’t disturbed during the raid as the effects of the gas gave the burglars ‘free rein’.
However, Liam Brennan, vice president of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, poured scorn on the idea.
In the past year the RCA has issued statements claiming stories of tourists being gassed in their caravans and motor-homes were a myth.
Dr Brennan said in 2015: ‘I cannot think of any agent that could be used in this way that could be delivered in an effective concentration into a large environment to produce the effect desired.’
Former Top Gear host Hammond and his wife Mindy were gassed before they were burgled as they slept in their St Tropez villa in 2018.
Hammond, Mindy, and 15 other guests were targeted by raiders who used anaesthetic gas to knock them out before rifling through rooms for cash and jewellery.
She revealed that she almost walked in on the burglars after hearing a noise in the hallway – but instead turned away after assuming it was another couple in the villa.
Mindy told the Express at the time: ‘That just makes my blood run cold. I could have easily walked in and it could have been unpleasant.’
Grimshaw announced his ‘surprise’ engagement to long-term boyfriend Meshach Henry in 2022.
The former E4 presenter revealed that year that Henry had been trying to pop the question for a month but had been put off by the star’s mood swings.
The couple had planned to wed this summer, but Grimshaw told The Mirror it’s ‘TBC’ and will ‘probably not be this year’.
‘We get a little excited about it, then we just forget about it for six weeks,’ he said.
‘Someone asked “aren’t you getting married?” and I’m like “oh s**t yes we are”.’