Kim Petras fans arrived in force
Kim Petras discovered Radio 1 had made one of her tracks Tune of the Week and tweeted Scott and Chris to thank them.
Her fans followed.
Suddenly the presenters’ timelines filled with intense messages about how much listeners loved Kim and what her music meant to them.
Scott was delighted.
Chris was slightly overwhelmed.
The fandom demonstrated how one artist tweet could redirect an entire online community towards a radio programme in minutes.
Neither presenter had met their partner on an app
That gave Scott an idea.
Dating apps made relationships begin with an immediate visual decision.
Swipe right.
Swipe left.
Neither Scott nor Chris had met their current partner that way.
So they did not know whether they would have passed the photograph stage.
There was only one way to find out.
Call them.
Chris went first
Chris rang his wife and asked the hypothetical question.
If they had never met and his photograph appeared on a dating app, would she have swiped right?
The answer was effectively no.
Chris looked genuinely wounded.
His wife explained that attraction had grown from knowing him.
His personality had won.
Scott found this reassuring.
Chris found it savage.
Listeners immediately began sending versions of the word savage through social media.
Then Scott realised he had to do it too
Chris insisted the experiment could not stop with him.
Scott’s boyfriend had to answer.
Scott was much less relaxed once the test moved towards his own relationship.
The call created exactly the awkwardness the show wanted.
The broader point became clear.
A couple could be extremely happy together and still admit that a single dating-profile photograph might never have brought them together.
Scott thought that was both worrying and oddly romantic.
Total Swipe Out became a feature
A listener suggested a title:
Total Swipe Out.
Scott and Chris immediately liked it.
Other couples began volunteering to make the same call.
The game had evolved from a dangerous conversation between the presenters and their partners into another audience feature.
Funny Business stayed simple
Tuesday also meant Funny Business.
After all the genuine relationship discomfort, the programme returned to calling real companies with names that made Scott and Chris laugh.
The rules were much safer.
Make an ordinary enquiry.
Do not laugh.
The businesses usually succeeded.
The presenters usually did not.
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