Jake from Rick Stoned rings his dad (Hollyoaks’ Shane Ritchie) while suffering the disorienting effects of the speech jammer, and Kevin McHale from Glee heads to Stupid Street to ask British people questions about America.
It’s Friday, and Scott is standing in for Nick Grimshaw. The show kicks off with an energetic Gem heading on holiday, Scott riding high from an afternoon nap, and the usual banter about the week’s guests and observations—including chat about Matt Willis’s beard, M People’s “Search for the Hero” (Phil Taggart’s exam-time motivator), and the ongoing ice bucket challenge nominations.
The main entertainment comes from two segments. First, the speech jammer returns. This feature uses a headphone delay that scrambles the speaker’s own voice perception, making them sound bizarre without them hearing the effect themselves. Jake from Rick Stoned is the victim, attempting to call his dad Shane Ritchie and pitch him a favour: getting the EastEnders cast to promote Rick Stoned’s single, which has charted but is slipping down the charts. Shane thinks Jake’s been drinking, and the delayed-voice effect makes the whole call wonderfully awkward and fractured.
Second, in a turnabout on the “dumb Americans” internet trope, American guest Kevin McHale (playing Kurt on Glee) takes Stupid Street questions about America—asked by a British public. The results are painfully bad: people confuse continents with countries, think America is a language, and nobody can sing the national anthem. One person manages “Go America.”
The show also discusses celebrity Cameo-style messages (Sinéata’s bizarre “And many more” rendition of Happy Birthday), contemplates a curry club for the final breakfast show next Friday, and rounds out with the usual Friday energy and listener shout-outs.
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