Olympics: (5 Live)
5 Live Olympic Download (5 Live)
Katie Puckrik’s Power Pop (6 Music) | iPlayer
The Whale Menopause (Radio 4) | iPlayer
Ooh, the Olympics are fun, aren’t they? Radio 5 Live has gone all giddy, as excited as a teenager finding a Squirtle in the fridge. It’s great to hear such an injection of joy into the station, which has felt strangely low key for a few months now. Now only Adrian Chiles and Peter Allen seem to still be on the chill pills. They operate in a different world from the rest of 5 Live, it seems, so I’ve been flipping to 5 Live Sports Extra for my Olympic exuberance in the mornings.
But as soon as it’s past midday, I’m back to 5 Live again. Mark Chapman, who’s been working long shifts on TV and radio, is another naturally laid-back-sounding presenter, but his relaxed style manages to be full of enthusiasm. Combining jokes, teasing and information, Chappers almost reclaims the dread word banter. After him, Tony Livesey is on fine form and Eleanor Oldroyd is just great, isn’t she? It’s been nice to hear Nihal, who’s joining 5 Live in September, popping up here and there, proving that excellent sports commentary is also part of his wide radio repertoire.
The Olympics require presenters to have vast sporting knowledge, or at least an ability to swot up quickly, and there are always some hilarious moments. The lovely Craig Heap’s gymnastics commentary had me howling, on and off (on Max Whitlock: “Going up and down the horse, which is a kind of bench thing, in his blue leggings”). Though I swap between radio and TV for my Olympics buzz (it’s hard to ignore the expertise of specialist commentators such as Christine Still), the madness of someone describing two seconds of synchronised diving or rowing a boat in a straight line along a river keeps me coming back to radio. Plus, in the mornings, I’ve been enjoying the early morning 5 Live Olympic Download programme. It’s not as exciting as the live commentary, of course, but it’s an excellent summary, usually given by Caroline Barker. Barker, who’s naturally more formal than 5 Live’s daytime hosts, a touch “presentery”, does a thoroughly professional job. On Breakfast, not her usual role, Barker is a little awkward joshing with Nicky Campbell (always on the money with sport), but she’s getting better at it.
One small point. Why is the BBC so obsessed with talking to the families of those who win a medal? On Monday, I had to switch off poor Justin Webb on Radio 4’s Today as he tried his hardest to get a coherent sentence from the grandmother of swimmer Adam Peaty. (5 Live had been stationed with her all night, for some mad reason, so got better stuff.) Chris Mears’s dad did very well (on Chris’s childhood illness: “He very nearly died. Luckily he didn’t”) and Sally Conway’s mum wasn’t bad either (“That girl is bloody beautiful! I’m sorry I swore. I’ve been an emotional wreck all day”). But really, why get the families on at all? They’re not trained for it and they’re – obviously – incoherent with joy. Leave them alone to their personal elation rather than crashing the party like uninvited guests.
If you’re immune to sport’s charms, as many of my friends are, there are other options. On 6 Music, Lauren Laverne’s quirky choice in music is always cheering. (She followed my favourite Smiths song, This Night Has Opened My Eyes, with Mos Def the other day: my emotional roller-coastering rivalled a medal winner’s parent.) And on the same station, Katie Puckrik’s Power Pop two-parter is a gas, with excellent guests and a surprising playlist. Or how about this for a documentary topic – The Whale Menopause?Killer whales are the only species, other than humans, which go through the menopause and Radio 4 gave us an interesting programme about it. Whales are very family-oriented. The grandparents look after their grandchildren and the children don’t move away from their mum for her entire life. Awwwww.
