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As we head into 2022, just my few thoughts on the new line up. In short: it's fantastic. I don't think there have ever been more shows on Radio 1 that I actively want to listen/catch-up with. Vick & Jordan are really growing into the drive slot. Sadly it just shows how poor Grimmy's show was when you compare just how much speech/content/fun they manage to squeeze into the show. There's plenty of different weekly features, they've got the daily staple in the 'Something Songs' & the 'talkers' always feel quite natural and generate some good stories. Basically they move the show on every 15/30 minutes & the hard work of the production team really does shine through. It's a shame it doesn't have a Scott Mills Daily style podcast to make catching up easier. I'm growing to like the pairing even more - sometimes I do feel Vick's humour doesn't quite work with Jordan. She kind of stunts his jokes and the way he plays up the whole Northern thing (but I guess I am comparing this to Jordan's podcast with William Hanson who just knows when to sit back and let Jordan be the fool). Katie is great cover too, she works with both Vick & Jordan so should keep the show sounding consistent all year round. RMC: I like them. I really enjoyed the evening show they did, because it was a little bit naughty & had plenty of games, even if the music wasn't always to my taste. Personally, it does feel like they've not translated this very well across to the new slot. I loved night night nonsense (a different game every Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday where Rickie/Melvin/Charlie each host one night and the other 2 play), if they did something similar (midday madness? 😂) it would really lift the whole show in my opinion. The daily features they have started aren't that strong: Random annoys me, Skive lounge is fun but maybe not as often & Melvin's Live Lounge guessing game just sticks out (why are they only doing it 1 day a week when they do LL rewinds every morning?). It just feels like they have been pinched a bit too much on talk time & when there is 3 of them on the show it feels a bit of a waste of talent. Of course it shouldn't be as fast paced/packed as Breakfast or Drive, but I think Scott & Chris show that the 'content filled' shows do work outside of peak. My biggest wish for 2022 is that they can inject a bit more fun into this show. Shout outs are fine till 11, then the Live Lounge, but some different good features every half hour after that would be great. Greg James and Scott & Chris deliver the 2 most consistently great shows on radio anywhere in the UK, in my opinion. Obviously not too much to say here because they weren't new for September 2022, but they have certainly kept up their game alongside the new additions to the line up. I hope neither change for a good while to come. Reinstating Greg on a Friday was probably one of the best decisions of the year. My one niggle with Breakfast is that I wish they made more of the 9:30 till 10:30 slot. I miss the daily madness of the 6:30 till 7am bit. Evenings - I don't listen to them as regularly (I used to catchup with RMC) but whenever I have heard Clara, Jack & Sian, it really does feel like they are in the perfect places on the schedule. They each love the slot they do & it shows. Just a shame we have lost an entertainment based evening show. Even if it was 10-12, so it could be naughty again with Powerdown at 12am. Weekends - Adele is a pro and very much suits the weekend Breakfast slot. It doesn't need to be as fast paced as weekdays & I think the past few years of having the 2 different duos on then just shows what a waste it can be, especially on a quiet morning like Sunday. I'm still not 100% sold on Dean, he is good but I did prefer Jordan in that slot. As has been mentioned here before, I wonder if it's too much too soon. Should he be on Early Breakfast with Arielle at the weekends? My personal choice would've been RMC on a Friday, Dean on a Sunday & someone new on a Saturday - gives a slot to another ex-Xmas/Friday EB presenter too. (I'd pick Sam & Danni. Saturday, so they are still free to cover life hacks on a Sunday). Matt & Mollie are sounding the best they ever have. The move back to weekends really did 'reset' their show and the stuff they do is on a par with the duos on Monday to Thursday. Some really great games and the 'talkers' they do are also generating some of the funniest stories too. Again, it's a shame they don't have a podcast. They could probably get away with a pretty beefy weekly one?

I think it's one of the best possible versions with the DJs available. Have some minor complaints, but Aled did a great job after all. Arielle: I like her a lot, especially her energy and her accent. They hopefully won't forget about her when a better weekday slot opens up. Greg: I still miss Chris Smith, but as someone who've always hated breakfast show as a genre, I love Greg's. It's not perfect but I always switch off happier than I tuned in, that's a really big deal. RMC: Now... I'm sorry but they remind me of an awful commercial breakfast show. It's like they's have a time limit on the links, always in a rush to play the next song and laughing on top of each others lines. They just don't fit on R1, at least not as a trio (when one of them was absent the show got a bit better). At least the music is not monotone and boring like it was on the nighttime show. Melvin is cool tho. Scott: We can just take him for granted at this point, because he's leaving R1 next year since 2012, but still, here we are. Okay, nothing lasts forever, but as long as they're sounding this strong with Chris (this morning's "surprise" show was fantastic for example), I'll still be listening for the next 1/2/5/10/20 years. Even when Scott leaves the afternoon slot (probably around 2112 ), I hope he stays on the chart show or get a naughty late night slot. Vick & Jordan: My first thought was that it's a waste pairing them together, because they're the best two of the new generation presenters, and two great shows are better that just one. After I heard the first show I've changed my mind, this was a brilliant move, they sound amazing together. Clara: Kinda indifferent on her, love her voice, but nothing special. Wasn't listening that much. Not her fault, but I think the hottest record "rebrand" was a mistake. At least it's not a separate 5 minute show on sounds, but on air it sounds like it was and I don't like it. Jack: Now this is how a specialist show should sound like. And it's on at a time when average human beings are still awake. Perfection. Powerdown Playlist: If only it was live... or at least fake live... if only... René/Annie/Benji: I'm just glad they're still on. Shows like this are what used to make R1 nighttime special, not lazy mixes recorded for repeating. Adele: Weekend mornings are the shows that suit her the best imho, but I don't hear her that much to form an opinion. Dean: The first impression was really bad, "be happy right now or else" vibes, so I avoided him for months. I gave him another chance in early December, but this he was actually fun and sounded professional. My favourite thing from him was the birthday hour for the poor folks (like myself ) who celebrate their birthday around Christmas time. Maybe he deserved all three weekend shows after all. Matt & Mollie: They're still okay, I guess. Not really listening nowadays. I still prefer solo Matt though. Dance Anthems: I wouldn't really mind Charlie, but throwing out the future hour for another classic one is such a sin from a new music station in my book, that I haven't listened once since M.I.S.T.A.J.A.M (that's how he spells it, right? ) left. Anthems in general: (Rant alert!) Play songs in full! Whoever mixes them, clearly can't mix at all, so why bother. If i like a song, and it cuts off halfway through, I just switch off the radio and put on the full song. Also repeat less! Yes, Starlight, Flowers, 21 Seconds, Gotta Get Thru This and such are all classics, but maybe the last 2 decades have many many more brilliant but forgotten songs that deserved to be on anthems instead of yet another play of these. Everyone else: Nothing specific, maybe I'll edit this if I have something new to say. Bonus: The 10:30-1-15:30-6-8 schedule: I'm kinda fine with it now, my only complaints are that it's still inconsistent with weekends and weekday shows feel shorter than they actually are, especially drive, so I still prefer the good old 10-1-4-7. (That's it for now, I'm back with another overly long post with broken english in another ~6 months. )

Elliot Darby I think did quite well. Sounded quite natural.

Surprised they don't do the chart of the year anymore

Scott & Chris are now in for Greg this week (only Scott on Friday)- Scott seems to still be doing the chart on Friday. Katie Thistleton is now in for Scott & Chris