Swings and Roundabouts

I can't help but have the feeling that Radio 1's recent swaparound might have had the opposite of the desired effect.

Scott Mills has moved from the drivetime 4pm-7pm show that he's inhabited since 2004 to the afternoon 1pm-4pm slot. The result has become something of a "Best of Scott Mills" with features from the drivetime show which would previously have gone in blocks, running for some six weeks on a daily basis, now appearing on a weekly or twice weekly basis. This shrewd move recognises that there is a far more loyal listener base for the afternoon show, and a much higher number of people who will be listening on a daily basis. Given that one irritating feature on a daily basis could make people retune, this strategy appears to be working. The online streaming of the Innuendo Bingo feature now regularly becomes a trending topic on Twitter whenever it happens, something which i haven't seen any other Radio 1 show manage for a recurring feature without on air promotion.

The other factor is that Mills, along with producer ("The One That Doesn't Speak", Emlyn Dodd) has rebuilt the team around him which at times has sometimes struggled to achieve its best output over recent years following the departure of Mark "Chappers" Chapman (to FiveLive / BBC Sport) and Laura Sayers, who now produces for Greg James. The recent introduction of Chris Stark, whose input varies from laddish to Karl Pilkington-esque obliviousness, has been a success with him rapidly becoming a valuable asset. Similarly, Beccy Huxtable's off-the-wall barminess is also brilliant. The team as a whole seems to be up for anything and always ready to ridicule themselves for a laugh.

So, moving on to the drivetime show. Greg James has moved in to Radio 1's second premium slot and i'm genuinely trying to think of something nice to say to start this section on a positive note. Being honest, i'm not sure i can, which is a shame because i've been a fan of James since he started on early breakfast. The show starts off well enough with three songs in a row, but thats where it ends. Greg then seems to fall into several traps of lame local radio shock jock features - an obligatory "is it just me...?" kicks off, followed by the audio equivalent of a fail blog where James highlights where his fellow DJs have made mistakes over the past 24 hours. Most of the time these are really lame clips of people stumbling over words and things like that, whilst the once affable James now gloats like a smug twat over the lot of it.

And that is before we get to Fridays. I had expected the "Feet Up Friday" feature to transfer over, but now we have three teams of listeners attempting to win control of the section of the show in the run up to Newsbeat at 17:45. The whole thing is just a mess - too many people, some of whom have very strange ideas about their wacky characters and team identities they've assumed for the feature. Over a three hour show it might work, but in scarcely an hour its just a shambles.

I don't think i've ever wanted to like a show so much and been as disappointed as i am with the new Greg James drivetime show.