Short answer: Chris won. Nikki still isn't over it.
Paddy McGuinness runs a Week-est Link segment on his Radio 2 show, seven questions, one from each day of the week, two people going head to head. Last week that was Chris and Nikki, husband and wife, live on air, with a box of Life Blood cans sitting in the studio as evidence.
Want to hear it for yourself? Listen on BBC Sounds and skip to 1 hour 16 minutes.
The kombucha explainer nobody asked for
Paddy opened strong by guessing kombucha was fermented cabbage. Wrong drink, wrong country, wrong century, but a fair guess given how often the category gets mixed up. Chris set him straight: fermented tea, flavoured with hops, not fruit or juice. Four flavours. Lemon Drop got the mention on air, named after the Lemon Drop hop.
Then came the bit we didn't have to fight for: 39 calories a can, no artificial sweeteners, vegan, gluten free, 100% natural ingredients. Paddy said it himself, unprompted, and pointed out it would cost a fortune in advertising. He's not wrong. We'll take a national radio audience over a media buy any day.
Six out of seven, and a Raleigh Burner detour
Before the questions even started, Paddy and Chris ended up deep in Raleigh bikes, the Burner, the Mag 20, the reflectors that mattered more than the brakes. Real childhood energy, live on the BBC.
Then the actual quiz. Chris went first:
- Texas, for Charlene Spiteri's band
- The 44th president, for Obama
- Nailed the Tom Jones lyric, no hesitation
- The fresh breath sound effect (you had to be there)
- The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
- Left hand, correctly guessed blind
Six out of seven. The one that got away was Mo Gilligan's judging gig, fair enough, he plays a very specific corner of the TV schedule.
Nikki's turn, and the stakes went up
If Chris won, Nikki was cooking a roast chicken. If Nikki won, Chris was doing the food shop wearing a cape and his pants over his trousers, full Superman, her idea entirely, decided the wardrobe wasn't as good as the assignment.
Nikki came out fast. Genesis for Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel, Pinot Grigio before Paddy had finished the question, Coronation Street for Anthony Cotton. Three straight, no hesitation, and Paddy noted she clearly hadn't drawn breath doing it.
Question four undid her. Jeremy Vine learning to DJ was the answer, she went with Sara Cox, and Paddy pointed out Sara Cox was literally the question. Question five, a Rick Astley lyric, and she got tangled in the words right before the line that would have saved her.
Three out of five. Roast chicken it was.
The Paddy pen
Chris walked away with the show's trophy, the Paddy pen, and an open invitation from Paddy to send a photo of it being used to fill out timesheets at "the factory." We can confirm the pen has been put to work.
Thanks to Paddy and the whole Radio 2 team for having us on, and for genuinely enjoying the cans rather than just being polite about them on air. Chris got the win. Nikki got the chicken in the oven. Everyone got fed.
Keep reading
Curious what's actually in the can, minus the radio banter? Read what kombucha actually is or why we skip artificial sweeteners entirely. Or just try the flavour Paddy had in his hand, Lemondrop, for yourself.
