Chris could barely look at Bryan Cranston
The final July archive edition revisited Bryan Cranston visiting Radio 1.
Scott immediately pointed out that productivity around the BBC had collapsed because staff were trying to see him.
Chris was even more overwhelmed.
*Breaking Bad* was one of his favourite television programmes ever, but Cranston also represented huge pieces of his childhood through *Malcolm in the Middle* and *Power Rangers*.
Bryan clarified one part of the Power Rangers story.
Early in his career he had done voice work on the television series, and the Blue Ranger’s civilian identity — Billy Cranston — had subsequently been named after him.
Years later he would return to the franchise as Zordon in the film.
Breaking Bad was really a story about one bad decision after another
Asked to explain *Breaking Bad*, Bryan reduced it to something simple.
Walter White was an initially sympathetic man making increasingly terrible decisions.
Nobody involved had known the programme would become a global phenomenon.
They knew the writing was strong, but Bryan said there is no way of knowing whether a good piece of work will actually connect with an enormous audience.
He had later watched himself dubbed into other languages while travelling, including hearing Walter White with a suitably growling Czech voice in Prague.
The Breaking Bad tattoo was designed for Bryan, not the audience
At the end of filming in 2013, members of the crew discussed getting tattoos to remember six years together.
Bryan decided to join them despite never previously having one.
As an actor, he did not want something visible that would constantly need covering.
So he placed the *Breaking Bad* logo on the inside of a finger.
When his hand was closed it was hidden.
He liked that because the tattoo was for him rather than for everybody else to see.
Britain’s food had dramatically improved
Bryan also talked about visiting the UK as a teenager.
His verdict on British food back then was not kind.
Returning decades later, he thought the standard had become world-class.
Chris, fascinated by what famous people eat, immediately demanded details of Bryan’s recent restaurant order.
Bryan had eaten sole and was avoiding carbohydrates.
That triggered the inevitable side discussion over whether potatoes were, in fact, carbs.
Bryan assured them they were.
Then Scott handed Heisenberg a Little Mix song
The number one single at the time was Little Mix’s *Shout Out to My Ex*.
Scott and Chris explained that the record was essentially a message to a former partner.
They had therefore decided there was one man uniquely qualified to deliver it with maximum menace:
Heisenberg.
Bryan had not heard the song and did not really know Little Mix.
That did not matter.
He switched into Walter White’s low, threatening voice and read the lyrics.
Suddenly a triumphant pop breakup song sounded like a warning from an Albuquerque drug lord.
Chris found the result almost uncomfortably exciting.
Bryan, having finished, observed that the lyrics were actually rather poignant.
There was no need to play another song
Scott admitted that Bryan was the rare guest he would happily have spoken to for the entire programme without playing any music.
The interview had moved from the mechanics of *Breaking Bad* and acting to Power Rangers trivia, fish dinners and finally Heisenberg performing Little Mix.
It was an appropriately strange archive choice to finish July.
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