Straight in My Basket Off
Anto Sharp returned the day after his Bingo appearance for a national Straight in My Basket Off. Listeners presented products and lines designed to match his supermarket Vines, then Anto decided whether each deserved the catchphrase.
The contest demonstrated how difficult his simple format was to reproduce. The best entries combined an innocent product with confident delivery, while weaker attempts merely chose something rude. Anto remained generous but retained clear ownership of the voice and timing that made the original work.
Falling for artificial voices
Paul’s office had discussed people and machines with attractive voices. One colleague wanted his partner to sound like the female Google voice, while another preferred the office coffee machine announcing that a drink was ready.
Scott admitted previously finding the self-service checkout voice attractive. Its instructions about unexpected items and collecting change sounded firm without becoming unfriendly. Listeners nominated train announcers, bus systems and other voices heard repeatedly without ever seeing the speaker.
Chris proposed a dating show in which contestants selected partners by voice before turning around, then discovered during Real or No Real that an American programme called The Choice had already used rotating chairs and a similar premise. Another supposedly original format had escaped him.
Scott wants presidential powers
After watching Barack Obama perform the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon, Scott wanted to reproduce the ceremony before Christmas. He imagined choosing one bird to save and wondered whether the pardoned turkey then wandered away with the confidence of somebody protected by the president.
The plan required two turkeys if one was still intended for dinner, which rather weakened its charitable purpose. Cel Spellman played Real or No Real and confirmed that a Manchester grotto for pets really existed, complete with festive clothing, snacks and photographs with “Santa Paws”. The show ended with two new seasonal ambitions: pardon a turkey and send an animal to meet Father Christmas.
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