Scott returns from Dubai with Arabic Pop Idol and a Charlie XCX lookalike
Scott returned after Sara’s week in charge, thanking her and Beccy before admitting that he felt as though he had forgotten how to do the programme. His holiday tan had reached the stage where Beccy thought it might last indefinitely, and he was pleased enough with that to treat it as a minor achievement.
Dubai had provided him with a new television obsession. Scott had watched Arabic Pop Idol for around 40 minutes with no real idea what was being said, but he could still recognise the format, the singing and the judges’ oversized lounge-style seats. The fact that he could not follow the detail did not stop him becoming completely absorbed.
In a music shop, he bought a CD by Hussein Al Jassimi, a major Middle Eastern singer who Scott thought bore an extraordinary resemblance to Charlie XCX. He played a sample, put the cover online and invited the audience to judge the likeness, despite Beccy’s evident concern that the comparison might not be entirely diplomatic.
The conversation had the familiar shape of Scott returning from a trip with one intensely specific observation and refusing to let it go. Beccy was quickly drawn into the argument, while the rest of the show had to accommodate Scott’s holiday purchases and a dispute no one had asked for.
It made for a very recognisable return: a normal pop-culture story, a badly supported theory, and Scott enjoying the fact that he had brought back evidence. Sara’s cover week was over, but Scott was immediately back in the middle of a needless on-air controversy.
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