Everything good had apparently “saved 2020”
Scott had reached the end of his patience with a particular social-media phrase.
Every time something remotely enjoyable happened, somebody announced that it had saved 2020.
Bill Bailey performing a cha-cha-cha on *Strictly*?
Saved 2020.
Adele appearing on *Saturday Night Live*?
Saved 2020.
News of *Legally Blonde 3*?
Saved 2020.
Miley Cyrus announcing an album?
Saved 2020.
Harry Styles releasing the video for *Golden*?
Apparently that had saved 2020 too.
Scott did not object to any of these things being enjoyable.
He objected to the idea that a music video or television performance had somehow repaired an entire year.
Harry Styles fans mounted a defence
Listener May strongly disagreed with Scott’s scepticism.
For her, Harry Styles’ *Golden* video had genuinely improved the year considerably.
She enthusiastically described the Mediterranean scenery, Harry leaning against a car and the famous yellow hat.
Scott and Chris understood that May’s definition of “saved 2020” was not intended as a policy assessment.
She simply really enjoyed looking at Harry Styles.
The conversation became increasingly thirsty.
Scott still refused to concede that one attractive pop star running around Italy had repaired the global situation.
Adele and SNL reopened another argument
Adele’s appearance on *Saturday Night Live* was another moment people had used the phrase about.
Scott and Chris liked Adele.
They also knew *SNL* was an American institution.
But they had never fully connected with the programme’s sketch-comedy style in the way American audiences seemed to.
Scott carefully framed it as a difference in taste rather than declaring the show bad.
What feels hilarious in one country does not always travel perfectly to another.
The internet, of course, had treated Adele simply appearing on the programme as another emergency rescue package for 2020.
Bamboleo made a stronger case
If Scott had to nominate one thing from the show’s own world capable of briefly improving a bad week, Bamboleo had a much stronger claim.
The Gipsy Kings ritual had continued through lockdown and remote broadcasting.
For a few minutes, listeners knew exactly what was happening.
Names would be shouted out.
People would dance wherever they happened to be.
Nothing more serious was required.
Calling it the thing that “saved 2020” was obviously another joke.
But unlike most social-media declarations, Scott at least understood the emotional logic.
Abby turned the interview around on Scott
Student Abby joined the programme for a university project.
Usually Scott asked the questions.
This time Abby interviewed him.
She began by saying Scott was her favourite radio presenter and immediately asked who his favourite presenter was.
Scott joked that the answer was Chris Stark.
Chris accepted the compliment extremely seriously.
From there, the questions became progressively less comfortable.
What was Scott’s secret to staying young?
Abby wanted to know how Scott managed to keep working in youth radio without appearing permanently out of place.
Scott joked about vitamins, treatments and doctors.
That reminded him of the time he and Chris had tried a vitamin drip.
Behind the joke was a more serious answer.
Part of lasting at Radio 1 was continuing to be interested in new music, new people and what listeners were actually talking about rather than pretending it was still the era in which he had first joined the station.
What did he regret?
Abby then asked for Scott’s biggest radio regret.
He initially reached for safe material.
Moving to Swindon while working on the Bristol show had not exactly been the best practical decision.
He also remembered the fake presenter voice he used early in his career, when he thought proper radio required him to sound like a generic disc jockey rather than himself.
Abby wanted something juicier.
Scott reluctantly went through moments involving nights out, awards shows and appearing on air in states he would probably handle differently now.
Chris enjoyed watching somebody else make Scott squirm.
Listeners immediately suggested Abby should become a regular feature because she had managed to put him in the position normally reserved for guests.
Don’t Look It Up went shopping for food abroad
The final quiz round explored unusual food products sold in other countries.
One question asked what Burger King in Israel had once used in place of a normal burger bun for a special creation.
Scott correctly guessed:
donuts.
The round also moved into unusual Oreo collaborations and other international variations.
As with the month’s supermarket and fast-food discussions, the appeal came from discovering that familiar brands become unexpectedly strange as soon as they leave Britain.
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