The meeting ends without a dismissal
Scott and Chris had reported to the Radio 1 boss after the previous day’s hold-button prank. They returned with their jobs intact but strict instructions not to discuss the meeting, which naturally made its outcome the first thing everybody wanted to know.
They confined themselves to saying that they had entered the office with their tails between their legs. The programme survived, and attention could turn to a colleague who was about to endure an entirely different kind of discomfort.
Rochan tries to keep The Saturdays on schedule
The Saturdays were promoting “What Are You Waiting For?” and their greatest-hits collection, a milestone reached after 18 singles. They remembered collaborating with Flo Rida despite some of the group never meeting him, then agreed to help Scott test assistant producer Rochan.
Rochan believed he was supervising recordings for Real or No Real. Scott pretended to take a phone call and left the room; Rochelle Humes, Una Healy and Frankie Bridge gradually followed. That left Mollie King and Vanessa White with a producer who still thought his responsibility was to complete the session.
Mollie and Vanessa moved closer, tried on his glasses and hat, complimented him and made the conversation increasingly personal. Vanessa followed him when he attempted to leave and invited him backstage and into the VIP area. Rochan kept asking about Real or No Real, maintained professional distance and refused to interpret any of it as a genuine advance.
Scott finally returned and exposed the experiment. Rochan had passed, although the resulting video was described as a festival of cringe and Vanessa’s continued interest in his social-media account ensured that the situation was not quite over.
G in the Park runs on almost no sleep
Greg James had managed only a brief nap at G in the Park. Some BBC staff still suspected the overnight stream was prerecorded, despite the audience watching his tent, visitors and increasingly exhausted face in real time.
The festival continued with performers including Foxes, while Greg tried to keep a radio show and a campsite functioning at once. Scott’s framed photograph and planted luggage were now established parts of the site rather than temporary pranks.
Alice Levine investigates a robot called Bob
Alice Levine played Real or No Real. Uruguay really had blamed a World Cup defeat on Brazilian officials confiscating the team’s supply of dulce de leche. A Birmingham university really had introduced a robot security guard called Bob, an unusually friendly name for an autonomous patrol.
Annie Mac had not secretly become an accomplished bassoon player. Scott’s new Alt-J record also carried an unrelated hazard: “Matilda” had once made him feel ill, so he approached “Hunger of the Pine” as though the band’s music might trigger a repeat reaction.
The next day promised Union J and Innuendo Bingo. After watching Rochan resist two members of The Saturdays, the studio had already set a formidable standard for composure.
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