Scott’s birthday began with a present he was not allowed to open on air
Scott turned another year older and Chris had actually bought him a birthday present.
The unusual instruction was that Scott should not open it during the programme. Chris had also paid for it to be professionally wrapped, which led Scott to tease him for outsourcing even the wrapping rather than doing it himself.
Scott said he disliked a fuss around his birthday but appreciated the present. The show also read reviews of the podcast, including one listener who said listening at work made colleagues stare when they suddenly laughed, and another who liked the programme but thought Scott looked like a “chav” in the podcast artwork.
James sent a 2.20am message from the A303
Before the main guest arrived, Scott played a voice note he had woken up to from James the private investigator.
James was working on the lorry-driver lead discussed the previous week and had been sitting in a lay-by at around 2.20am. He said he had seen activity that appeared to confirm the stories listeners had been sending about drivers using particular stopping places for secret meetings.
James had also taken a long-lens photograph but said it could not be shared publicly for legal reasons.
The full update was being saved for Thursday, but Scott and Chris were delighted that a conversation about an imaginary affair map had already turned into a genuine overnight stakeout.
John Newman admitted he booked hotels as Dick Steele
John Newman returned with “Fire in Me” as Radio 1’s Tune of the Week.
The conversation moved onto aliases and John revealed the name used when hotels were booked for him: Dick Steele.
He explained that it amused him because of the way the name appeared when written or displayed, but immediately realised that revealing it on national radio meant he would probably need another one.
Scott decided not to waste the character and asked John to leave the studio so they could interview Dick Steele instead.
Dick Steele knew far too much about John Newman
John returned in character and introduced himself as Dick.
Scott and Chris used the alter ego as a way of asking questions John might normally avoid answering directly. Dick talked about John’s big nights out around the Rudimental period and joked that John had become much more important once his solo career took off.
When asked whether John had ever refused to write for another artist, Dick admitted there were people he had decided not to work with, but refused to name them because doing so could damage careers.
He also claimed John woke him up by playing the Spice Girls loudly and then complicated the fiction by saying they sometimes shared a bed “because we’re the same person”. Even John appeared to lose track of the rules of his own alter ego.
Scott eventually sent Dick back outside and brought John Newman into the studio again.
John Newman tried to rescue the EastEnders theme with lyrics
The show had rediscovered Anita Dobson’s 1986 version of the *EastEnders* theme, “Anyone Can Fall in Love”, which put full lyrics over the familiar tune.
Scott and Chris challenged John to prove his voice could make anything sound good. Rather than write new words, John kept the existing lyrics so the task would be harder.
Over the familiar theme he sang lines including “Anyone can fall in love” and “over the years it has to keep growing”, giving the song a much more recognisably John Newman delivery.
Then Dick Steele returned and criticised John’s performance, forcing the alter ego to attempt the same song himself.
By the end, Scott was no longer sure whether he preferred interviewing John or Dick, while John had successfully turned a hotel-booking pseudonym into a fully developed Radio 1 character within about half an hour.
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