The “up” argument had become national
Chris’s silent-disco video from Chichester had spread far beyond the original show.
Listeners were arguing over whether S Club 7 had always sung “reach for the stars” or “reach up for the stars”.
Scott had rarely seen people become so angry over one extra syllable.
Some younger listeners were absolutely certain the “up” existed.
People who had grown up with S Club were equally certain it did not.
The written lyrics backed Scott and Chris.
That still was not enough.
They needed S Club.
Tina Barrett confirmed it
Tina Barrett joined by phone.
A listener who believed in the “up” was put directly to her.
Even while speaking to somebody who had actually recorded the song, the caller maintained that she could hear the extra word.
Tina gave the definitive answer.
There was not an “up” in the original lyric.
The song was “reach for the stars”.
Tina did admit she did not hate the altered version.
If anything, “reach up for the stars” made the already cheerful song even perkier.
Scott immediately asked her to do something dangerous.
S Club were performing that night.
Would they sing the wrong version deliberately?
Tina agreed.
The audience could be told that Radio 1 had asked them to add the word and the programme wanted video evidence.
A misheard lyric from a university silent disco was now influencing an actual S Club performance.
Nicole had survived her first flight
The show also welcomed back Nicole from Pontypridd.
Nicole had never previously been on a plane.
She had barely travelled outside Wales.
Radio 1 had spent weeks preparing her for a trip to Amsterdam with boyfriend Liam.
Not all of the advice had been reliable.
Scott and Chris had told Nicole that passengers were expected to dress smartly, salute staff and applaud the pilot after landing.
By the time she reached the airport, Nicole had begun to suspect she had been stitched up.
She nevertheless survived the flight and returned with an entirely new set of experiences.
For somebody who had approached ordinary air travel like a major expedition, Amsterdam had felt enormous.
The programme was delighted that a short European city break had become one of its longest-running listener stories.
The Apprentice’s greatest moments came back
With *The Apprentice* returning, Scott and Chris also replayed some of the moments they believed demonstrated why the programme remained essential television.
The appeal was not simply business.
It was the strange language people used when trying to sound impressive, the overconfidence of candidates and the inevitable point when a task exposed that confidence.
Scott liked revisiting old clips just before a new series because everybody knew another collection of extraordinary business statements was about to arrive.
The argument was no longer “is there an up?”
By the end of Tuesday, the factual question had been settled.
There was no “up”.
The new question was whether thousands of Chichester students had accidentally improved one of the defining pop songs of 2000.
Tina Barrett seemed willing to entertain the possibility.
Scott and Chris were not.


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