Final instructions before the train
Scott and Chris slipped away from Radio 1’s Christmas party to call James immediately before his evening commute. He had bought a basic £10 phone, added credit, saved its number in his normal handset and checked that it was charged.
The plan was simple only in theory. James would drop the phone where the woman could see it, leave the train and either wait for her to run after him or ring the abandoned handset. He was told not to overthink it and departed with instructions to “go get the girl”.
The target passenger disappears
The next day, James revealed that she had not been on the evening train. She was also missing from the morning service, despite having used both for two months.
Scott wondered whether she had finished work for Christmas, become ill or heard the programme and changed her journey. James feared the third possibility. He addressed her directly on air, apologised for any weirdness and insisted that he was normal enough to speak face to face.
Other women had begun messaging the show to express an interest in James, but he remained committed to the one person who was no longer there. The unused phone stayed ready for another attempt.
Dial-a-Carol attempts Bamboleo
The programme made its annual call to Dial-a-Carol at the University of Illinois. The student volunteers promised to perform requested holiday music, but Scott and Chris asked for “Bamboleo” instead.
The first improvised version used the wrong melody. With guidance from the callers, the volunteers tried again and reached something recognisably closer to the Gipsy Kings. The result was neither a carol nor polished Spanish, but it satisfied the show.
Wrap Myself in Paper day
The date marked the exact lyric “Christmas in a week and a day”, allowing Scott to play the show’s annual favourite “Wrap Myself in Paper”. Matt Edmondson then joined Real or No Real for another set of remembered and half-remembered facts.
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