Scott believed he was born for Radio 1 Relax
Radio 1 was launching a new Relax stream on BBC Sounds.
The schedule promised decompression sessions, power-down playlists, chilled piano, movie music and relaxing sounds through the night.
Scott immediately began auditioning.
He lowered his voice.
Slowed the delivery.
Tried to sound soothing.
Chris pointed out that Scott’s version of “relaxing” sometimes drifted dangerously close to a naughty late-night voice.
Scott maintained that spas and massages had always been part of his personality and that he was therefore naturally qualified.
Relax could be something practical rather than another instruction
Chris made the more serious point.
Radio presenters often tell stressed listeners not to worry and promise things will be okay.
Those are comforting words.
A dedicated stream gave people something they could actually put on if they were anxious, studying, trying to sleep or simply needed the noise around them to become calmer.
Scott immediately imagined himself at home with the chilled sounds playing during a massage.
That was probably not the official use case.
It still fitted the brief.
Lockdown clothes were becoming a problem
Scott and Chris then realised they could not keep dressing as though nobody else would ever see them.
For months the Radio 1 building had been quiet.
Hoodies, joggers and repeated outfits had become normal.
Now people were beginning to return.
Pubs were open again in parts of the UK.
Social life was slowly restarting.
The pair decided they would eventually have to look more presentable.
Scott had become so accustomed to Chris’s tiny lockdown wardrobe that even a different T-shirt now attracted comment.
Scotland and Wales received their Ode to the Pub
England had already received Chris’s emotional pub poem.
Scotland and Wales were approaching their own reopening.
Scott had promised they would not be forgotten.
The show therefore prepared a bespoke Ode to the Pub for listeners waiting to return.
The details changed.
The emotion did not.
Pints, familiar rooms, outdoor tables and the feeling of being somewhere with other people had become symbols of normal life rather than simple leisure.
MMA Fighter or Cocktail finished Don’t Look It Up
The quiz introduced another name-based category:
MMA Fighter or Cocktail.
As with Racehorse or Drag Queen, the entire game depended on two completely unrelated worlds having names strange enough to overlap.
Scott and Chris discovered that this happened surprisingly often.
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