Chris returned to discover what he had missed
Chris had been away on Monday.
That meant he had missed Stormzy.
Scott initially described the previous day as though Stormzy had performed “Walking in the Air” in the Live Lounge.
Chris became excited.
Scott corrected himself.
Stormzy’s Live Lounge cover had actually been “Silent Night”.
Scott had separately persuaded him to sing some *Walking in the Air* during the interview.
The distinction mattered enough for the show to state it clearly.
Mr Jam had set Scott up
Then Chris revealed something Scott had not known.
Producer Mr Jam had spoken to Stormzy before the interview and given him one instruction.
Do not call Scott Scott.
Call him Chris.
For the entire interview.
Stormzy agreed.
Scott had noticed.
After the conversation he had asked somebody on the team whether Stormzy had called him Chris more than once.
He had wondered whether one of Britain’s biggest artists genuinely thought he was Chris Stark.
The answer was much more irritating.
It had been a prank.
Stormzy committed to the wrong name
The show replayed the setup.
Mr Jam explicitly explained that Scott was a broadcasting legend and a nice person, then asked Stormzy to wind him up by repeatedly using Chris’s name.
Stormzy did exactly that.
Scott had tried to ignore it during the interview rather than correct him and derail the conversation.
Chris loved the fact the plan had worked quietly enough for Scott to spend hours wondering whether Stormzy simply did not know who he was.
Scott was less impressed by Mr Jam’s contribution to Radio 1 teamwork.
It was Magnus Carlsson Day
The date itself carried a long-running Scott Mills tradition.
Christmas was exactly:
one week and a day away.
That meant it was time for Magnus Carlsson’s “Wrap Myself in Paper.”
The automatic transcript repeatedly renders Carlsson as “Carson” or “Colson”, but the song and tradition are clear.
A listener called specifically because she and friend Emily waited for this moment every year.
Scott explained that Magnus Carlsson was the Swedish singer once associated with Alcazar, not the similarly named world chess champion Magnus Carlsen.
The song contained the exact lyric required for 17 December.
That made it one of the most date-specific records in the Scott Mills archive.
Ali Plumb chose the best worst Christmas films
Radio 1 film critic Ali Plumb joined with a deliberately different Christmas watchlist.
Scott did not want *Home Alone*.
He did not want *Elf*.
He did not want *The Grinch*.
Everyone already knew those.
Ali’s job was to find the best bad Christmas films which could become ridiculous festive viewing.
One title Scott had already discovered was A Shoe Addict’s Christmas.
The programme also discussed the sort of made-for-TV festive romances and animated celebrity projects which were unlikely to appear on anybody’s serious list of cinematic classics.
A Mariah Carey Christmas animation entered the conversation too.
The worse and more formulaic the title sounded, the more interested Scott became.
Christmas Confessions continued
The anonymous confessions remained open.
Scott and Chris had noticed each caller trying to beat the person before them.
What began as relatively harmless admissions had escalated into secret attractions, exes, twins and complicated family relationships.
The voice changer provided just enough distance for people to say things they had apparently told almost nobody else.
Scott warned listeners that there were now only a few shows left in the year.
If somebody wanted to enter 2020 with a clean slate, the window was closing.
Whoovent opened door 17
The Whoovent Calendar also reached day 17.
Each door continued supplying an old clip, product or cultural reference from the show’s past.
December now had two simultaneous countdowns.
The real Advent calendar heading towards Christmas.
And Radio 1’s own countdown towards the end of the year.
Wednesday promised an unusually crowded show.
Harry Styles.
Rebel Wilson.
Superfan Steve.
And the final Bamboleo Wednesday of 2019.
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