Tag: Christmas
One listener saves her best-of-year buzzer
Gemma has spent 2016 waiting for something worthy of her imaginary “best thing of the year” buzzer. December has arrived and she still cannot decide whether any moment has justified pressing it, creating the danger that a carefully rationed reaction will go unused.
Scott understands the problem because social media describes several things every day as the best ever. He advises Gemma to stop preserving the moment indefinitely, and the arrival of the new [...]
The secret Hollywood recording is revealed
Scott and Chris can finally explain why Clara Amfo had to begin the 1 December programme. They were recording the fourth Playground Insults with Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt, who were promoting Passengers and had agreed to sit opposite each other trading personal attacks.
Jennifer had seen earlier rounds and specifically requested the game. The short preview shows her driving the contest forward whenever Chris threatens to stop, while the full film [...]
A favour becomes a soaking
After weeks of support during Strictly Come Dancing, Judge Rinder agrees by text to play Innuendo Bingo for Scott. No publicist appears to have explained the format, and his repeated question about why he must get wet suggests the commitment was made before he understood it.
Rinder arrives openly reluctant and briefly looks capable of walking out. He nevertheless fills his mouth with water, faces Chris and completes the clips, protesting at both the material and the st [...]
Unlucky Gary sends the wrong cards
Unlucky Gary writes all his Christmas cards before finally reading the message on the front. The pudding design declares that calories do not count at Christmas, meaning he may have sent a tactless message to colleagues and relatives for whom it is completely unsuitable.
Scott and Chris wonder whether anybody still posts a full set of cards and advise Gary to inspect the recipients before delivery. It is another low-level disaster for a man whose ordinary erran [...]
Robot Wars requires an apology
Scott and Chris return from Glasgow unable to reveal whether they won their Robot Wars battle, but able to admit that filming ended with a formal apology. Scott controlled the weapon, Chris helped drive and Dangerous Dave handled the machinery until an incident left something so badly damaged that a JCB had to remove it.
They stress that the damage was not intended and apologise to the engineers and production staff whose carefully built machines still had weeks of [...]
Hollywood makes the show late
Clara Amfo begins the programme because Scott and Chris are trapped in a nearby room recording something they are not yet allowed to identify. They can only say that two of the world's biggest film stars were involved and that an unseen representative of Hollywood has forbidden them from revealing more.
Both insist the interruption was worthwhile. The guests were friendly, the video is enormous and the finished result will explain why Chris had to buy a smarter shir [...]
Adele's online queue causes fury
Listeners spend hours in an online queue for Adele tickets, only to see the concerts sell out or their payment page refresh at the decisive moment. Scott threatens a temporary protest against playing Adele, although he accepts that the chaos is a consequence of her popularity rather than anything she has done.
The waiting extends beyond music. Medical student Matt has refreshed a page since 10 in the morning for examination results that still have not appeared, l [...]
Cardiff orders a much smaller tree
Cardiff Castle's main Christmas tree was announced as 40 metres tall but turns out to be 40 feet. Against the castle it resembles a Ferrero Rocher ornament, and nearby reindeer appear disproportionately large.
Listener John has seen it in person and confirms that the tree is pleasant but hardly an enormous city landmark. Scott calculates that a genuine 40-metre tree would stand close to the height of the Statue of Liberty, making the original promise implausibl [...]
Professor Green investigates Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? reveals a line back to royalty and introduces another professor during his visit to the Tower Hamlets archive. Scott and Chris immediately hear the title as an invitation to imagine Professor Green conducting the research.
That sends them through other people who appear to share the name, including a children's entertainer with Jewish party songs and numerous actual academics called Professor Green. The sho [...]
Another BBC opportunity emerges
Chris's Celebrity Mastermind appearance, with Scott as his specialist subject, is still awaiting its Christmas broadcast when another booking arrives. This time Scott and Chris can take part together in Glasgow on a returning programme involving robots.
They initially try not to name it, but the clues and conversation with Sam McTrusty make the answer obvious: they are filming Robot Wars. The sleeper train back to London is almost as exciting to Scott as operating [...]