The £400,000-a-year job BBC Radio 2 presenter revealed that he and his colleagues have ‘a proper laugh’ when they’re putting the show together, and highlighted some recent off-air hijinks
Regular listeners to Vernon Kay’s BBC Radio 2 show will be aware that the Bolton-born presenter has a relaxed, easy-going approach to his job. But they might be shocked to learn just how much fun he is having behind the scenes.
In a playful link during Friday’s (September 18) show, Vernon confessed to having wrestled one of his co-presenters to the floor after she “took the Mickey” out of him.
He’s not so innocent when it comes to mocking his co-workers, though, pointing out that traffic and travel announcer Ellie Brennan’s telephone voice was far posher than her day-to-day tones. He compared her to Mrs Slocombe, a character from late 1970s department store sitcom Are You Being Served, who spoke in an exaggeratedly-cultured voice to customers but who’s real accent was “common as muck.”
Vernon’s show builds on the “zoo radio” format that originated in New York back in the 1970s and was originally imported into the UK by BBC Radio 1’s Steve Wright in the early 1980s. Various members of the production team, including show boss Phil McGarvey, regularly take part in the chaotic on-air banter.
Assistant producer Janine Maya-Smith, who Vernon insists on calling Janice, is another significant character on the show. Vernon explained why sometimes he might seem to be rude to her on air. He revealed that some listeners had called in to complain that he was “so nasty” to her, and maintained that wasn’t the case.
“We’re I’m an office environment,” he said. “We’re all really good friends and when you are really good friends that’s what breaks barriers down.
“We have a proper laugh. To the point where, on Monday, I wrestled Janice-Janine to the floor because she was taking the Mickey out of me.”
While his core team clearly understand Vernon’s sense of humour, he can sometimes sail a little close to the wind when it comes to dealing with guest celebrities. When Vernon teamed up with Rylan Clark to introduce live music from Texas, Lulu and Jack Savoretti at Radio 2 in the Park, he was obliged to issue an on-air apology to headliner Chaka Khan.
As Rylan told listeners that the singer would be coming up later, he imitated Grandmaster Melle Mel’s rap from the intro her 1984 hit I Feel For you. Vernon quickly shut Rylan down, telling him that fellow BBC Radio 2 presenter Michelle Visage, who counts the “Queen of Funk” among her friends, had previously reprimanded him for doing the same thing.
He warned Rylan: “You can’t say that apparently, Michelle told me off, as did the rest of the BBC Radio 2 team,” to which an unrepentant Rylan cheekily responded: “Well, they’re not here!”
Vernon insisted: “Well, you don’t want a clout from Visage! She’s really good friends with Chaka. I didn’t know that [we couldn’t say] Chaka Khan…”
“Can we not do that now?” Rylan asked, prompting Vernon to reiterate: “No, she don’t like it!”
Rylan then quipped: “Well I shouldn’t have been on air for the past six weeks!” Recalling how he’d made the exact same mistake, Vernon said: “I know, tell me about it! I think I introduced her on Tracks Of My Years as… Chaka Khan. Sorry Chaka, we love you to bits!”
The former Family Fortunes presenter later shared his worries about creating further mayhem during the live show, adding: “The thing is, is when you’re in this kind of atmosphere, it does feel like a school trip, you’re so excited, the adrenaline kicks in and you forget where you’re going!”.
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