Richard Osman made Scott starstruck
Scott spotted Richard Osman while getting coffee at the BBC and became unexpectedly excited.
He was sufficiently distracted by seeing him that an ordinary contactless-payment problem became part of the story.
Scott had met plenty of famous people through Radio 1, but there were still particular people who could make him behave less professionally than he intended.
Richard Osman was apparently one of them.
A hotel receptionist had seen far too much
Profession Confessions then moved behind a hotel front desk.
An anonymous receptionist explained some of the things staff could learn about guests simply because they saw the same people repeatedly.
One regular man stayed at the hotel every couple of weeks.
He often arrived with a woman.
The receptionist naturally assumed she was his wife.
Then, on another visit, he arrived with a different woman and explicitly introduced her as his wife.
The receptionist immediately realised that the woman from the previous stays had not been his spouse.
The awkwardness increased because she already knew the man by name.
When she greeted him warmly in front of his actual wife, his reaction suggested he was suddenly very conscious that a member of staff possessed information he did not want discussed.
Scott imagined the questions the wife might ask afterwards.
Why did the receptionist know him so well?
How many times had he stayed there?
The employee had not set out to expose anything, but simply remembering a regular guest had created a dangerous moment.
Staff could see internet usage, not every detail
Scott and Chris also asked about hotel Wi-Fi.
The receptionist explained that staff could see information connected with usage and how much data was being consumed, but not simply sit behind the desk reading every website or private message a guest accessed.
That disappointed the programme’s fantasy of receptionists having total digital surveillance powers.
Jordan admitted being the snake
The show then asked about “sneaky mates”: friends who crossed lines when relationships were involved.
Jordan called with a confession.
While travelling with a friend, he had secretly been messaging the friend’s ex.
The arrangement unravelled after Jordan lost access to his own phone and ended up using computers, making the communications much harder to hide.
Scott challenged him on whether this was acceptable.
Jordan’s defence was partly geographical.
He came from a small area of Devon where, in his telling, everybody eventually dated everybody else anyway.
That did not rescue him.
When asked directly what his behaviour made him, Jordan accepted the verdict.
“I’m a snake.”
The phrase gave the programme a new category of friend to investigate.
The following days would produce more examples of people whose loyalty did not survive contact with an ex, a relationship or a wedding.
COMMENTS