OJ Borg sits in
OJ Borg presented the Good Friday programme while Scott was away. He acknowledged that the building was unusually quiet for the bank holiday and promised the regular features alongside two Big Guest Friday interviews.
The programme included Breakfast of Champions, asking listeners who they were, what they were eating and what they considered themselves a champion of.
The Easiest Quiz: Ian scores five
Ian became Friday’s contestant and finished with five points.
One of the answers that stopped his momentum involved the current month. Ian said March because his birthday was in March, despite the programme airing in April.
He argued that the answer had been shaped by personal association, but the quiz was unmoved. OJ accepted that Ian was unlikely to challenge the golden toaster and thanked him for making the segment entertaining.
The result confirmed the first joint Streak of the Week. Vivian from Monday and James from Wednesday had both scored 17.
With only one egg cup available, OJ considered smashing it and sending half to each winner. The production team instead agreed to borrow the following week’s budget and send a complete egg cup to both Vivian and James.
Charlie Brooker
Charlie Brooker joined OJ to discuss the seventh series of Black Mirror.
He talked about the challenge of continuing an anthology in which every episode had to establish a new world, set of characters and technology while still feeling recognisably part of the same programme.
The conversation covered the way real technology had repeatedly caught up with ideas once treated as dystopian exaggerations. Brooker said this made writing harder because reality often became stranger before an episode could be completed.
OJ asked about the balance between bleakness, comedy and emotion. Charlie rejected the idea that every story ended in complete despair and pointed to episodes that were romantic, playful or unexpectedly hopeful.
They also discussed returning characters and concepts, including the rare decision to revisit an earlier Black Mirror world rather than starting entirely from scratch.
Charlie described the new series as varied in tone and scale, with the anthology format allowing one episode to feel intimate and another to resemble a major film.
Fleur East
Fleur East joined the programme to discuss appearing in TINA – The Tina Turner Musical.
She spoke about the responsibility of performing songs associated with one of the most distinctive voices and stage presences in popular music.
Rather than attempting an imitation, Fleur focused on the energy, storytelling and emotional force required by the role.
The conversation covered rehearsals, physical stamina and the challenge of maintaining vocal power across a full theatre schedule.
Fleur also reflected on her own career from The X Factor and Sax to radio and stage work, describing the musical as another opportunity to test herself in a different format.
The studio had brought back the saxophone in her honour, connecting the appearance with Scott’s recent Bring Sax Back feature.
The One-Hit Wonder Years
The Good Friday Wonder Years was restricted to one-hit wonders.
It began in 1993 with 4 Non Blondes’ What’s Up? and moved into 1994 with Flip Da Scrip’s Throw Ya Hands in the Air.
The sequence continued through the 1990s with records remembered intensely despite their performers not returning to the same level of UK chart success.
18 April 2025: Vernon Kay
The handover reviewed the unusual Good Friday atmosphere, Charlie Brooker and Fleur East’s interviews, and the decision to send two egg cups after the quiz ended in a tie.
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