He made his debut appearance on the Essential Mix radio show, broadcast on BBC Radio 1, on 14 January 2001 after the DJ and producer Judge Jules, who, at the time, hosted his own show on BBC Radio 1, had recommended selecting him. In March, it was announced that he had been signed to Radio 1 as a bi-monthly resident for the Essential Mix show along with Carl Cox. Fergie went on to record three further Essential Mixes in 2001, as the official Radio 1 Essential Mix DJ. Later in March, Fergie won "Essential Relief"; this was a battle of the DJs style competition broadcast live on Radio 1 from the nightclub Home in London, in aid of Comic Relief. Listeners voted via telephone and email and the event was attended by over 2000 people. He beat Carl Cox and Jon Carter in his first two hits, and in the final, he beat Fatboy Slim. The other competing DJs were Judge Jules, Seb Fontaine, Lottie, and Darren Emerson. On 6 May, he returned to the Essential Mix with a live broadcast from a Godskitchen event at Leeds Town Hall. Later in May, a single with his remix of Tall Paul "Rock Da House" as the lead track reached number 29 in the UK Singles Chart. That summer saw Fergie continue his DJ residency for a second year, playing weekly at Amnesia. Another single with a Fergie remix as the lead track made the UK Single Chart in July when Da Hool "Meet Her at the Love Parade 2001" entered the chart at number 11. The readers of IDJ magazine voted Fergie the best newcomer of 2001, resulting in an appearance on the front cover of the July issue alongside Fatboy Slim and Carl Cox (who had also won awards in the poll). After his fourth Essential Mix in October, recorded live from Godskitchen at CODE in Birmingham, he hosted Judge Jules's Radio 1 show whilst Jules was away that week. This was his first time hosting a radio show. Two of his DJ mixes were released by the Ministry of Sound label in 2001. "Headliners: 03 Fergie" was a double CD released in October. Earlier in the year, he compiled and mixed disc 1 of "Hard Energy" alongside a DJ mix from Yomanda. Towards the end of 2001, he was voted 16th in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs Poll and was nominated for the Best DJ award at the Muzik Magazine Dance Awards.