Dial-a-Carol
Scott revived the show’s annual call to the University of Illinois Dial-a-Carol service, where student volunteers answered the telephone around the clock and sang almost any festive request. He chose “Little Donkey”, only to discover that the singers did not know it.
Rather than select something easier, Scott played the song from his phone and taught them the melody and words. Their resulting performance was uncertain but enthusiastic, and listeners cried at desks, confused new colleagues by playing it through headphones and immediately asked for the number. A second call produced a warm duet of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”, which the singer described as having made her Christmas.
Forty-eight hours until the window closes
Relationship Transfer Deadline Day was now close enough to affect real plans. One listener had a dissertation deadline on the same day and could not cope with both sources of pressure. Another arranged to keep her boyfriend occupied on Wednesday evening so he would have no opportunity to leave.
Scott restated the rule: the show was not telling anybody to end a relationship, but if a breakup was already intended it had to happen by 3pm on Wednesday. Olly Murs would be in the Love Balloon, Chris Kamara would monitor celebrity activity, Joe Sugg would oversee social media, the Vamps would explain the terms and Alice Levine would return as Barbara Windsor.
Listeners also recalled badly judged presents. One 13-year-old’s casual admiration of a stone led to a long Christmas treasure hunt ending at a neighbour’s house, where the final gift was a stone polisher. Chris admitted that he looked for exactly that sort of clue when buying for his girlfriend, while Scott claimed he knew what she would like better than Chris did.
The programme finished with Real or No Real, preparations for the Radio 1 Christmas party and the continued replaying of “Little Donkey” throughout the office.
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