“You’ve done it… you’ve made it to Friday!”
“I’ve never met anyone whose first purchase was a BBC sound effects album.”
“It was one of the best days ever… being in EastEnders.”

Warming Up for Friday

Scott burst straight into Friday energy after Clare Runacres’ bulletin, declaring, “Here’s hoping you feel a bit less Alex in school and a bit more Tony.” From the start, the show had that chaotic, joyous Scott Mills feel – including him reminiscing about unexpectedly singing “Robbie Amadeus… Falco!” with Peter Kay the day before.

We got early morning musical silliness as Scott dramatically delivered chunks of Maniac before a smooth handover into Ellie Brennan and Claire Runacres joining the chat. With Tina Daheley off for the day, Scott explained: “Tina’s off today… doing some deliveries in the van… Black Friday, busy time of year.” Claire revealed her “pink pointy number” shoes and brought in a bag of tinsel because she is, according to Scott, “Radio 2’s Christmas Queen.”

The Splash Heard Around the World 🌊

One of the funniest running bits today was Scott exposing the universally-used BBC “splash” sound effect after bonding with Peter Kay over their first-ever album purchases (both BBC sound effects albums).

Scott played the sound and listeners immediately joined the detective work. He insisted, “Once you hear it… you can’t unhear it.” The clip appeared everywhere: Dirty Den falling in the canal, Eminem’s Stan, Oasis’ Champagne Supernova, and even Wipeout. When a listener suggested Titanic, Scott sighed, “Martin, you’re better than that.”

This wonderfully niche Scott Mills moment carried on through the show — pure fan gold.

Good Morning Minute 🕒

The Friday Good Morning Minute was packed with charming chaos including George, 11, going on the Polar Express in his PJs, Chris in Barnsley starting “two of 19 Christmas jobs with his brass band,” and Grace from Buntingford being playfully mocked with Scott’s “tiny violin” for being stressed about packing for Barbados.

Pause for Thought with Matt Woodcock

Matt arrived with big news: he’d found his parish’s “Mariah Carey,” a yoga instructor named Lucy who’ll perform All I Want For Christmas at the local switch-on alongside a George Michael impersonator called Bob.

In true Mills style, Scott told him: “I don’t know if you realize how funny you are, but I find you so funny.” When Matt ended by actually performing Little Donkey, Scott cackled: “I didn’t think he actually would!”

The Easiest Quiz on the Radio – Birthday Edition 🎉

Debra from near Dundee took on the quiz as a surprise for her dad Philip who “uses the quiz as his wake-up call.” Despite faltering temporarily over her own height — “I don’t know how tall I am… five foot six?!” — she smashed the week’s top score with 35 points.

When Scott confirmed, “Guess what? 35!” Debra gasped, “Oh really?” and dedicated the egg cup to her dad: “I don’t eat eggs, so he can have it.” Pure joy.

Chaos followed as the text line exploded with outrage about the ever-elusive golden toaster: “I’m starting to think it’s a figment of your imaginations,” Scott said.

Big Guest Friday ⭐️

Rag’n’Bone Man (Rory) – Hour of Joy

Rag’n’Bone Man was warm, funny, and instantly at home. First, Scott replayed the stinger that didn’t air properly because Scott “didn’t put your mic on… let’s do it again.”

Rory talked dogs (his now only “hides Crocs instead of eating them”), his eight lost pairs of Crocs, and the confusion around his stage name: “People come up to me and say hello, Rag and Bone Man… I find that quite strange.”

On EastEnders

He lit up: “It was one of the best days ever.” Rory has watched the soap since childhood and proudly revealed he’s been campaigning for a cameo for 10 years. His line in the Vic?
“Just had a couple of jars after a gig.”

On Giant with Calvin Harris

He told the brilliant story of Calvin Harris sliding into his DMs:
“He just hit me up on Twitter… ‘This is what I’ve done to your song.’”
The track was basically finished before they’d even met.

On releasing Time to Love

The single began life in 2015:
“I wrote this in 2015… I freestyle-sang gibberish first, then filled in the words later.”

Maisie Adam – Fresh-Faced This Time

Maisie joked that last time she was on the show she was “head sore but heart full” after celebrating the Lionesses’ Euros victory in Basel. She confessed that the players had been laughing at her in the stands while she waved her “end of tournament bra.” Ella Toone even DM’d her a zoomed-in picture.

We got joyful talk about Brighton ladies’ football, her fearsome Laser Quest skills, and being recognised from Celebrity Race Across the World. Scott warned her not to give spoilers because Radio 2 listeners “get angry… even a year later.”

Taskmaster came up too, but with no spoilers: “It went well… everyone was nice.”

Rick Stein – Christmas, Cooking & Clubbing 🍽️🎄💃

Rick arrived with warmth and dry humour, carrying his first-ever Christmas book. He explained his childhood memories of real candles on the tree:
“We weren’t allowed in the room until the candles were lit… someone was watching them. It was lovely.”
(Scott and Maisie nearly fell off their chairs.)

On drinks

Rick declared boldly: “There’s only one Christmas drink… Negroni.”

On cooking truths

He stunned Scott and Maisie by agreeing with Mary Berry:
“Life’s too short to make puff pastry. Buy it. It’s better.”

On his early DJ life

Rick once owned a nightclub called The Great Western with a 1 a.m. licence and “no bouncer… most of our customers were fishermen.” Fights were common; he recalled a visiting Radio 1 DJ saying, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

He DJ’d under the name The Purple Tiger and only played tracks pre-1975 — “nothing after 1975… not even ABBA.”

On the restaurant

He admitted, “I realised I wanted to be a chef about three years after opening the restaurant.” The Seafood Restaurant turns 50 this year.

He also tackled listener cooking questions and even confirmed roast potato strategy:
“Parboil the day before… goose fat or duck fat… straight into a hot oven.”

Handover with Vernon Kay 🎧

Vernon popped in as ever for a cheerful handover. Scott told him Monday will be huge:
“We’re switching on Christmas… Wham and Shakey and Mariah will be on, but everyone is welcome… even Jona Lewie and the Waitresses.”

Vernon defended playing KT Tunstall’s “Mele Kalikimaka”, and Scott teased him: “Is that a Christmas song?”

Vernon sent him off with a grin: “Looking forward to that.”