Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

That's What He Said Podcast

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Hosted by
  
Greg James

Language
  
English

Length
  
40 minutes or more

Genre
  
Comedy

Updates
  
Weekly

Starring
  
Chris Smith with the News

Greg James — That's What He Said is a podcast featuring the best bits from the BBC Radio 1 drive-time show hosted by Greg James, which is broadcast live between 4-7pm, Monday to Friday. It features Greg and Newsbeat presenter Chris Smith, known on the show as "Chris Smith With the News".

Contents

History

It was originally announced that Greg James was to get a podcast in 2009, whilst he was presenting the Early Breakfast Show. However, this never materialized. It was again announced on 11 September 2013 that the Greg James Drivetime Show was to get a podcast. This was discussed at length on air, and Greg invited listeners to text in suggestions for the name. Ultimately, "That's What He Said" was decided on. The first episode was then released on Friday 24 October 2013, almost two months later.

About

The first episode of the podcast was released on 24 October 2013 and since then episodes have been released once a week on Friday afternoons, excluding breaks over Christmas and/or when Greg has been away. Loyal listeners of the podcast are referred to as 'Podcastards' and are able to get in touch with Greg and Chris via the podcastard email address. The emails are then read out during the podcast.

Both Greg and Chris Tweet from the That's What He Said Twitter account, with the first Tweet being sent on 20 November 2013.

The podcast has received mostly positive reviews on iTunes and has had considerable success on the iTunes podcast charts.

Format

The podcast begins with an introduction from the two presenters, often referencing and parodying other radio shows or presenters including BBC London 94.9 and Brian Cox or, more recently, by playing generic Radio 1 warnings for explicit or offensive content. Greg and Chris then discuss what happened in the show over the past week, as well as reading listeners emails. The podcast includes the features from the Greg James radio show including "The Mayor Of Where?", "Wrong Uns", "Rage Against The Answer Machine", "Pun Pong" and other sections of the weekday radio show including celebrity interviews and other general chat.

Each episode, lasting from 40 minutes to over an hour, contains mostly radio content with podcast exclusive chat between segments. This chat is often rambly and goes off on strange tangents, taking advantage of the relative freedom of a podcast as opposed to a live radio show, where there is a music quota.

Emails are read out every week by Chris Smith and follow a loose format. "Julia from Germany" acts as the show clerk and provides an itinerary and often reminds the presenters of discussion topics they may have mentioned in previous weeks. She keeps score for any games played, and from December 2016 has hosted the feature "Julia's Word of the Week" where she sends a clip of one German word. This has a theme tune, sung in German and English by Julia.

Listeners email in when it is their birthday and Greg then sings their names over the Jurassic Park theme tune - there is a running issue where Greg refuses to take the list from Chris Smith and insists on writing the names out for himself. The list is written in a different typeface every week which is also suggested by a listener. Finally, listeners look out for aubergine themed products and items and send in images for 'Aubergine Corner'.

The original catchphrase for the podcast was decided on 2 May 2014 to be "keep smiling", however later Greg began to sign off the podcast with the line "and that (as they say in the business) is the end of the podcast", which was unofficially adopted as the primary catchphrase.

On occasion, Producer Pippa has accompanied Greg while Chris was away and on one occasion, Chris co-hosted the podcast remotely, whilst away taking part in a video journalism course. On another occasion, another 'Chris Smith' from Peterborough (Chris Smith Without the News) took Chris Smith With The News's place on the podcast after standing in for Chris on the previous Wednesday.

Whilst Chris was on holiday in the summer of 2016, Ali Plumb (Radio 1's film reviewer) sat in for Chris Smith for three weeks. After the first week, a Twitter poll was created on the Podcastard Twitter account to determine whether Plumb would be allowed to return the following week. In this poll, "Yes indeed he's brilliant" won with 81% of the votes on a turnout of 580, whilst "You're joking aren't you" got only 19%. The following week, when asked "One more week for Plumb?", "Oh go on then" won with 87%, to only 13% for "not a chance in hell" on a turnout of 663.

Games

Most of the games featured on the podcast are from the radio show, but in addition, there are some podcast exclusive games that Greg and Chris play.

  • Mug on a Dog - Most episodes after 25 April 2014, when the idea originally intended for the radio show was first suggested by Chris, contain the game 'Mug on a Dog'. This involves Greg and Chris attempting to throw coins into a mug taped to a pink moving poodle named Travis. Terminology has been created to describe events in the game - a rimshot is when the coin bounces along the rim of the mug, whereas 'bounce out' is when a coin dives into the mug before bouncing back out. The games can get very tense, with the loser (usually Greg) often getting particularly angry at the loss. A guide explaining how to create a 'Mug on a Dog' was posted on the Podcastard Twitter. The game sadly had to be postponed during the episode on 20 February 2015 due to Chris Smith without the news dramatically shattering the mug, before being ordered to leave by Greg. It returned briefly in late 2016.
  • Hat on a Cat - After the final game of Mug on a Dog was played on the podcast on 13 March 2015, a new game was born. 'Hat on a Cat' had been discussed on a few occasions as an appropriate successor to the popular coin throwing game, and so on 20 March 2015, it debuted on the podcast. The game is essentially 'Mug on a Dog' but with a different toy animal and jingle. Greg and Chris take it in turns to throw coins into a felt hat, stitched onto the back of a cat. The first person to make a successful throw into the hat is that week's winner. Hat on a Cat was the first video broadcast through Greg's personal Periscope on 2 April 2015. In May 2015 Hat on a cat was replaced by BALL HEAD.
  • Guess the Emoji - The game involves either Greg or Chris closing their eyes while the other impersonates an emoji, such as winky-smiley, then whoever has their eyes closed must guess the emoji. Greg's preferred emoji to act out is the aubergine.
  • Ball Head – Greg and Chris take it in turns to throw a ball at each other's head, with the winner being the person with the most hits. During December, this is replaced with Bauble Head, where the balls are exchanged for Christmas baubles.
  • Cheese Ball – A Baby Bel cheese is thrown onto a court made of cheese slices.

    • Discussion topics

  • Greg and Chris have discussed the possibility of creating podcast merchandise, with some Podcastards sending in T-shirt designs and other merchandise ideas, some of which were posted on the Podcastard Twitter account. Ideas for merchandise include a T-shirt with a picture of the Ghost Owl on it or the slogan "I can't work off a survey if it's not in the right place, Simon!"
  • On 25 July 2014, the idea was first suggested that they would organise a meet up at a pub in Meriden, West Midlands, however after several weeks of putting back the day of the meetup, Greg said it wasn't going to happen. The potential for a podcast cheese and wine evening is still discussed.
  • On 29 August 2014, Greg asked where the cut-off point is for pilots going from Canada to Australia where they go the other way around the Earth. His question was later answered by a Podcastard.

    • Characters

    The podcast features several recurring comedy characters, involving Greg and Chris speaking through the voice changer to make their voices very high or very low. These recurring characters include:

  • CERN Workers - One of the CERN workers is a receptionist at the Large Hadron Collider and the other makes deliveries, meaning the two often converse with each other on topics including what happens when hadrons are collided. In one discussion, one of the workers asks the other if they have received the delivery of sub-atomic particles, but is disappointed when it emerges there were no such particles in stock. They first featured on 7 March 2014, when chatting about how an orange represents the Earth.
  • Tiny Ken and Tiny Terry - The two tiny Radio 2 DJ's Ken Bruce and Terry Wogan are the tiny relatives of the normal sized Radio 2 DJ's of the same names. They often appear in links on the podcast and answer birthday requests from the listeners. Terry's catchphrase is "more power to your elbow". It emerged on the 5 September 2014 podcast that Tiny Ken Bruce's middle name was 'The' and his parents were Morag and Terrance. Tiny Terry said he had 6 children who were all called Terry. This has been retired since the death of Terry Wogan.
  • Ghost Owl - The Ghost Owl was a once living pet of the podcast, who hooted to signal that Chris and Greg had to move on with the podcast. It died because it wasn't fed and has haunted the show ever since with the occasional scary hooting. The Ghost Owl has also made appearances on the radio show as a secret greeting to the Podcastards, who then reply on Twitter with the hashtag #WhatAHoot.
  • Butter Monster - The Butter Monster is the monster in all butter and loves dirty butter, where the butter is covered in crumbs, Nutella, Marmite and other bits of food that typically make their way onto the surface of butter. He first appeared on the podcast on 28 November 2014 and still tries to find out, if the light goes off when the fridge door is closed or not. His relative the Brandy Butter Monster made a brief appearance on the 19 December 2014 podcast, where he talked about how he enjoys the attention he gets around Christmas.
  • Tiny Celebrities - Despite Ken and Terry being the main tiny celebrities, there have been several other miniature celebrity appearances on the podcast and Greg and Chris often listen in to tiny celebrity parties where a variety of celebrities feature. Tiny Brian Cox featured on 16 Jan 2015 when he introduced his 'Mooncast', however, he died shortly after when Greg sat on him. Tiny Kanye West, a self-obsessed, angry tiny celebrity, and Tiny Kevin Pietersen, who often accuses people of bullying him, also appear on the podcast.
  • Fog Horn - Occasionally a barge passes through, with the fog horn sounding, each time slightly louder.
  • The Love Gremlin - A character with a very similar voice to the Butter Monster but more posh and not from the north. He is in love with love and therefore has an obsession with the podcastard Elizabeth and enjoys tinkling on his ivories for her.

    • Songs and theme tunes

    Both Greg and Chris have created songs for the podcast with varied levels of success.

  • Mug on a Dog - This song was written as a theme for the game of the same name by Chris who created the music for the song on Garageband. The song begins with "mug, mug, mug-mug-a-mug on, dog, dog, dog-dog-a-dogeey", followed by the chorus which repeats the title of the song. The lyrics differ slightly before and after the game - before the game, the lyric is 'it's time for a game of mug on a dog' whereas after it changes to 'that was a game of mug on a dog'.
  • Hat on a Cat - Following the revamp of the Mug on a Dog game to Hat on a Cat, a new jingle had to be created. The lyrics have been changed slightly to fit the new game as every "mug" from the original song has been replaced with "hat" and every "dog" replaced with "cat".
  • The Ghost Owl - Also written and created by Chris, The Ghost Owl is written about the dead owl and features some spooky backing vocals from Chris, while Chris sings on top about having an encounter with the owl. He sings "if you hear a spectral hooting as you listen to the free download, it's the ghost owl". It debuted on the podcasts first birthday, on 24 October 2014. The chorus of the song is "it's the ghost owl (the phantom of the podcast), the ghost owl (toowit, toowooh)". It can be listened to on Chris Smith's Soundcloud.
  • Poddy-Podcast Song - This was a song Greg made as the soundtrack for the podcast. Greg sings a cappella the words "poddy, poddy, pod, pod, pod, pod, podcast, poddy, poddy, pod, podcast" repeated four times.
  • Ball Head - This song was written by George, a listener of the podcast after Greg James stated he wanted a theme tune made for it. Played every week at the start and end of Ball Head. The lyrics are "Let's play a game with Chris Smith with the news and Greg James. But don't lose your head 'cause it's time for another game of Ball Head!"
  • A Song Just For You, Nick - After several weeks of the Ball Head theme being used a listener called Nick emailed in a said he didn't like the theme tune. In the week that followed, George had written and recorded a heated response song for Nick. He sings "You don't like my song, well I hate your face. You have no musical taste" as well as "I don't like you, or your theme song. WAIT what theme song?".
  • Julia from Germany theme tune - Greg decided that show clerk Julia has earned a theme tune. She picked the backing music with great care as it seems, which is from a German children's TV series called "Löwenzahn" and Chris made up the lyrics. The lyrics are: "Das schöne Fräulein aus Deutschland, sie liebt Eulen und Schokolade. Julia aus Deutschland, Guten Tag."

    • Recurring references

    Several features from other radio and TV shows have featured on the podcast.

  • What Day is Father's Day? - Taken from a New Zealand radio station, where a radio host asks a caller as part of a quiz what the question would be when given the answer, which was the day of Father's Day. The host then attempted to hint to the caller that she needs to word her answer in the form of a question as she repeatedly gets it wrong. Occasionally Greg plays some lines from the conversation such as "I don't know!"
  • Fitness Video - An audio clip in which Eileen Fowler, a fitness instructor, creates an exercise routine with Helen on piano, Roy at the organ and Ray on drums. For a few episodes, the podcast ended with Eileen saying a goodbye from herself and the others.
  • Chris Needs - During the brainteaser section on the Chris Needs show, a caller asks the brainteaser "what goes up a drainpipe down but not down a drainpipe up?", he then keeps corrects himself, each time asking slightly different question including "what can go up a drainpipe and cannot go down but cannot go down a drainpipe and can go up?". After several attempts, Needs gives up and puts the brainteaser to the listeners.
  • I Can't Work Off A Survey - during the radio feature Rage Against the Answer Machine, a caller phoned in with the rage "I can't work off a survey if it's not in the right place Simon!" This catchphrase is now repeated often.
  • Delia Smith - A clip of Delia at a Norwich City football match features her yelling "where are you?" and "let's be having' you!" to the crowd.
  • Get On the Beer Son - On the radio show feature 'Ask the Nation', one caller phoned up to give advice and in doing so said "get on the beer son". This clip is regularly used at the end of the podcasts.
  • Peace and love – Based on Ringo Starr's video in which he requested people stop sending fan mail and items to be signed, because he's "got too much to do". Podcast listeners remixed the audio of this video.

    • Notable podcastards

    Several Podcastards have contacted Greg and Chris using the podcasts very own email, some of whom have appeared multiple times on the podcast.

  • Julia From Germany - Julia Dusold first featured on the podcast after emailing in to say she was standing in front of a post office whilst listening to Chris talk about a post office on the podcast in German. On 26 September 2014, Julia was appointed by Greg as the official show clerk and since then sends an email every week with the podcast agenda to remind Greg and Chris of what to do. She co-hosted the Podcast when she visited the Greg James Show at Radio 1's Academy in Norwich on 13 May 2015. Greg and Julia recorded the Podcast, whilst Chris was absent, in a Pub. On 10 June 2016, Julia joined Chris and Greg to record the podcast at the Radio 1 studios, as well as helping Greg with the Birthday Song and playing Cheeseball. Since December 2016, Julia is hosting the feature "Julia's Word of the Week" where she sends a clip of one single German word each week. This has a theme tune, sung in German and English by Julia.
  • Elisabeth is the Love Gremlins interest and Greg is using special music when her emails are read out.
  • Ronni Stefano became Arts Correspondent for the podcast on the episode that aired 29 July 2016 after responding to a tweet that Greg posted asking a podcastard to call up the show whilst he was recording. Ronni is 19 and "doesn't do that much" apart from sit indoors and occasionally go out with her mates. She is going to university in September 2016.

    • Episodes list

    1. Welcome Along (24.10.2013)
    2. The Hairy Bum Man (01.11.2013)
    3. Taylor Swift, JLS & would you date a man called Elvis (08.11.2013)
    4. Greg meets Miley Cyrus (15.11.2013)
    5. Greg gets a surprise bum wax... from Rylan Clark (22.11.2013)
    6. The Impressions (29.11.2013)
    7. Mulled Wines (06.12.2013)
    8. Karl Pilkington Has A Moan (13.12.2013)
    9. The Last Podcast...of the year (20.12.2013)
    10. The Happy Podcast (17.01.2014)
    11. The Yorkshire Podcast (24.01.2014)
    12. Simon Pegg, Marvin Humes & Emma Willis (31.01.2014)
    13. Example, Scott Mills & Nick Grimshaw (07.02.2014)
    14. Rudimental, Karl Pilkington & Clare Balding(14.02.2014)
    15. Sir David Attenborough, The Brits, Pharrell (21.02.2014)
    16. Liam Neeson, The 1975 and Rage (28.02.2014)
    17. Miranda Hart, Prof Brian Cox and Rage (07.03.2014)
    18. 8Keith Lemon, Tinie Tempah and Rage Against The Answer Machine (14.03.2014)
    19. Impressions and Nerd Alerts (21.03.2014)
    20. Ricky Gervais, Alan Carr & Attenborogh (28.03.2014)
    21. Miranda Hart and Michael Palin (04.04.2014)
    22. 5 Seconds of Summer, Mayor Of Where and Grab a Guest (11.04.2014)
    23. Martin Freeman, Keith Lemon and Kiesza (18.04.2014)
    24. Cameron Diaz, Kate Upton and Leslie Mann (25.04.2014)
    25. Kiefer Sutherland, The Vamps and Nerd Alerts (02.05.2014)
    26. Nelly, Death Star Caller and Nerd Alerts (09.05.2014)
    27. Olly Murs, Biffy Clyro and The Mayor Of Where (16.05.2014)
    28. Hulk Hogan, James McAvoy and Sam Smith (23.05.2014)
    29. Jonah Hill, Tiesto and Martin Garrix (30.05.2014)
    30. Brazillians, Example and Nerd Alerts (20.06.2014)
    31. Will.i.Am, Karl Pilkington and Geoffrey Boycott (27.06.2014)
    32. Nicole Scherzinger, James Corden and You Me At Six (04.07.2014)
    33. G In The Park, Mayor of Where and Nerd Alerts (18.07.2014)
    34. Cheryl Cole co-host, Will.I.Am Star Caller and Rage (25.07.2014)
    35. Nicole Scherzinger and a Tiny Celebrity Party with Cheryl (01.08.2014)
    36. Christina Hendricks, Nerd Alerts and Mayor of Where (08.08.2014)
    37. Ricky Gervais, The Script & Jackie Chan (15.08.2014)
    38. Professor Green, You Me At Six and Great British Bake Off (22.08.2014)
    39. Dermot O'Leary & Great British Cheese Off (29.08.2014)
    40. Jessie J, Labrinth and the Tiny GQ Awards (05.09.2014)
    41. Lethal Bizzle, Clare Balding and Hotel Worries (12.09.2014)
    42. Professor Green, Tiny Celebrity Quiz (26.09.2014)
    43. Sam Smith, Bond and World Records (03.10.2014)
    44. X Factor's Cheryl, Kevin Bridges and Noel Fiedling (10.10.2014)
    45. Lord Sugar, Nerd Alerts and Mayor of Where (17.10.2014)
    46. Ricky Gervais, Russell Howard and Rage (24.10.2014)
    47. Keith Lemon, Dynamo & Spooky Things (31.10.2014)
    48. Ben Howard, Pete Wentz and Rhod Gilbert (07.11.2014)
    49. David Guetta, Children in Need and Russell Kane (14.11.2014)
    50. The Script, Lee Evans and Rage (21.11.2014)
    51. McBusted, Father Christmas and Mayor Of Where (28.11.2014)
    52. Ansel Elgort, Christopher Biggins and Santa (05.12.2014)
    53. Jamie Oliver, North Star Caller and One Direction (12.12.2014)
    54. Miranda, Tiny Celebrity Part and Mayor of Where (19.12.2014)
    55. Jack Whitehall, Olly Murs and James Corden (09.01.2015)
    56. The Brits and Joey Essex (16.01.2015)
    57. Big Tiny Quiz and Revamped Ten Green Bottles (23.01.2015)
    58. Tiny Kanye West, Ella Henderson and Rae Morris (30.01.2015)
    59. Ariana Grande, Stacey Solomon and Lord Sugar (20.02.2015)
    60. Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith at The Brits (27.02.2015)
    61. Danny Dyer, Phillip Schofield and Thanks Zane (13.03.2015)
    62. All Time Low, Jim Parsons and Tiny Kanye West (20.03.2015)
    63. Ed Sheeran, Jess Glynne and Fall Out Boy (27.03.2015)
    64. Charlotte Crosby, Ricky Wilson & Fearne Cotton Star Caller (03.04.2015)
    65. BBC News, Sia and Rachel Riley (10.04.2015)
    66. Kiesza, Jenson Button and Clare Balding (24.04.2015)
    67. All Time Low and Russell Howard (01.05.2015)
    68. Anna Kendrick and Tiny Kanye West (08.05.2015)
    69. Radio 1 Academy (15.05.2015)
    70. Greg and Chris Reunited (22.05.2015)
    71. David Guetta and the Big Weekend (29.05.2015)
    72. Chris Pratt from Jurassic World (05.06.2015)
    73. Emma Willis, Mayor Of Where and Nerd Alerts (12.06.2015)
    74. The cast of Entourage and Knock Your Socks Off (19.06.2015)
    75. Sandra Bullock, Minions and Aqualandia (26.06.2015)
    76. #FindAFamous, Suzi Perry and the leap second (03.07.2015)
    77. The Good Afternoon Game, The Wimbledon Game and some Pointless chat (10.07.2015)
    78. Joe Lycett, The Vamps Star Caller and Greg doesn't know what Curby is (17.07.2015)
    79. Dr.Greg James meets Richard Osman and Gabby Logan (24.07.2015)
    80. Mumford & Sons and David Guetta inspired Nursery Rhymes (31.07.2015)
    81. Tiny Celebrities in Ibiza & Jim Chapman Star Caller (07.08.2015)
    82. Carly Rae Jepsen Star Caller & Example (14.08.2015)
    83. Jack Whitehall & Marcus Butler (21.08.2015)
    84. Secret Podcast (28.08.2015)
    85. Lethal Bizzle's Bond theme - The Spectre Skank (11.09.2015)
    86. Tiny Kanye West Wing and Millie Mackintosh (18.09.2015)
    87. Get Lairy Volume Bun and Americans get their sing-dependence (25.09.2015)
    88. Kate Mara and Rage Against The Answer Machine with Scott and Chris (02.10.2015)
    89. Sam Smith hears Lethal Bizzle's Spectre Skank and life-size Jeremy Vine (09.10.2015)
    90. Greg and Lord Sugar's Unimpressed Book Titles (16.10.2015)
    91. Vin Diesel is Wrong Uns Champion (23.10.2015)
    92. Noel Fielding and Rage Against The Answer Machine with Danny Howard (30.10.2015)
    93. David Attenborough narrates Adele's 'Hello' (06.11.2015)
    94. One Direction and Kate Winslet (13.11.2015)
    95. Ricky Gervais is a surprise guest - we weren't expecting that (20.11.2015)
    96. Actual Jamie Lawson plays the Jamie Lawson Game LIVE, plus Karl Pilkington (27.11.2015)
    97. Disclosure play the Good Afternoon Game (04.12.2015)
    98. North Star Caller and backstage at the BBC Music Awards (11.12.2015)
    99. Tina Fey and North Star Caller (18.12.2015)
    100. Chris Hemsworth and North Star Caller (23.12.2015)
    101. The Tiny Celebrities celebrate the New Year and Greg meets Radio 1's new movie reviewer (08.01.2016)
    102. Danny Dyer and Alice on the BRITs Launch Red Carpet (15.01.2016)
    103. Greg's Gregathlon Announcement and Steve Carell (22.01.2016)
    104. Kevin Hart, Ice Cube and John Krasinski (29.01.2016)
    105. Jason Derulo, Douglas Booth and Lily James (05.02.2016)
    106. Backstage at the Brit Awards and a Podcast Game Special (26.02.2016)
    107. Find A Famous is back (04.03.2016)
    108. The Pun Pong Premier (11.03.2016)
    109. Rage Against The Answer Machine with Danny Howard in Miami (18.03.2016)
    110. Elmo, Ross Kemp and Jesse Eisenberg (25.03.2016)
    111. Pointless Remix (01.04.2016)
    112. Ricky Gervais and Rob Brydon (08.04.2016)
    113. Sia and Tiny Shakespeare (15.04.2016)
    114. Chris Jericho & Joe Lycett (22.04.2016)
    115. Sir Ian McKellen sings Drake (29.04.2016)
    116. Sir David Attenborough's best bits & the Going Home Song (sort of) live (06.05.2016)
    117. Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy (13.05.2016)
    118. Johnny Depp & Jack Whitehall (27.05.2016)
    119. Chris Martin from Coldplay and Rage Against The Answer Machine with Alice Levine (03.06.2016)
    120. Julia From Germany is here! (10.06.2016)
    121. Pun Pong with Sian Welby and Greg has been spotted doing something dodgy at the cricket... (17.06.2016)
    122. The Rock, Kevin Hart and Jeff Goldblum (24.06.2016)
    123. Live from Wimbledon with Craig David (01.07.2016)
    124. Biffy Clyro, Professor Brian Cox and Ricky Gervais (08.07.2016)
    125. The 1975 & Rent A Greg (15.07.2016)
    126. Ali Plumb & Rage Against The Answer Machine (22.07.2016)
    127. Matt Damon & Ali Plumb (29.07.2016)
    128. Rage with Danny Howard (05.08.2016)

    A full podcast archive can be found online.

    References

    That's What He Said Podcast Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA