Becky Hill was finally back in the studio
For the first time in roughly two years, Scott and Chris had a proper guest sitting with them in the Radio 1 studio.
That guest was Becky Hill, fresh from winning her BRIT Award and still slightly overwhelmed by the support which had got her there.
The simple act of having an artist physically in the room again felt significant after such a long period of remote interviews.
Becky talked about the award, her speech and the strange pressure of social media when you are ill, including the feeling that posting online somehow makes people think you were not really sick enough to miss work.
Jordan needed a musical intervention
The real mission was Jordan North.
By now the Rowing Home challenge was taking a serious toll. His hands were blistered, his body was exhausted and the psychological grind had become as difficult as the physical one.
Becky had a new record called Run, made with Galantis.
Scott and Chris therefore gave her an obvious instruction: turn Run into Row.
Becky rewrote the song live, including lines about Jordan continuing in his boat and the packed lunch from his mum.
Jordan joined from the route sounding completely drained.
When Becky sang directly to him, he admitted it was enough to make him emotional.
Scott, standing only a few feet away from Becky, was equally struck by hearing that voice live in the room again after two years.
Bangers became rowing puns
Even Bangers was forced into the challenge.
Scott and Chris chose records which could be linked, however weakly, to rowing.
The Strokes became an obvious option because every movement of the boat involved a stroke.
Fisher also made the cut through a much more tenuous chain of logic involving water and somebody “losing it”.
By Thursday, almost every part of the show had been bent around Jordan’s challenge.
The emotional centre, though, was Becky Hill singing a personalised version of her new song to a presenter who sounded as though he genuinely needed it.
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