Radio 1 needed a name for a rat
A listener called Verity had an actual pet rat without a name.
That was enough for Scott and Chris to revive one of the show’s strangest recurring ideas.
Listeners could nominate somebody who had wronged them.
If the story was strong enough, the animal would inherit that person’s name.
The programme had already done similar things with a snake and a cockroach.
Now Britain’s worst exes and unreliable dates were competing to become a rat.
Scott stressed that the story mattered more than the name.
A random “call it Dave” was not enough.
Radio 1 wanted evidence of genuine rat behaviour.
Ask Me Anything found David Ellis
The day’s extraordinary person was David Ellis, who held a Guinness World Record connected with riding rollercoasters naked.
Scott and Chris immediately had questions.
How did somebody discover this could become a record?
Was the ride privately closed?
Did the restraints create practical difficulties?
How cold did it get?
David explained that the challenge involved a group riding a rollercoaster without clothes as part of a record attempt.
The record had required enough participants and the usual safety procedures still applied.
Scott was fascinated that an ordinary theme-park ride could become a Guinness category simply by removing everybody’s clothes.
The conversation also naturally moved towards farting, wind resistance and whether being naked made the ride feel different.
Ask Me Anything had previously found plane lickers and professional snail racers.
A naked rollercoaster record holder fitted perfectly.
“Father’s Day is on Sunday” finally had a useful week
One of Scott and Chris’s favourite pieces of archive audio came from a New Zealand radio quiz.
The contestant was effectively given the answer:
“Father’s Day is on Sunday.”
She repeatedly failed to work out what the question should be.
The clip had become a long-running show reference.
This week it became genuinely practical.
Father’s Day really was on the coming Sunday.
Scott and Chris started calling listeners and asking:
“What day is Father’s Day?”
Some immediately understood the reference.
Others simply answered “Sunday” and could not work out why that was apparently not enough.
The pair realised they had created a bizarre but effective reminder service for people who had not yet bought a card.
Love Island was everywhere already
The show was also fully into the new Love Island series.
Chris had started watching much more seriously than in previous years.
Small moments from the villa were already becoming daily conversation and feeding new features.
The programme joked that by the end of the summer nobody listening would be able to avoid knowing what had happened, even if they never watched an episode.
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