Radio Times

Review by:

Jane Anderson

Grown men, do not be alarmed if everything seems weird in this programme. It’s not something you drank last night. Radio 5 Live has made a very conscious change to how it sounds with the specific intention of getting children to listen in with their parents. (They say “parents”; they actually mean “dads”.)

Dave Vitty hops across from Radio 1, where he has been Chris Moyles’s “Comedy Dave” for many a year, and actually gets the opportunity to be himself. As father to a young child, Vitty leapt at the chance to present this live show. “It’s a good, light-hearted way of engaging kids in the Olympics,” he says. “5 Live has access to Olympians past and present, and we’re going to be talking to them — not just about their sporting lives, but also their day-to-day stuff.”

The format is fast-paced and busy, with reports from the Blue Peter team on their Olympic tour. They’ll also be throwing in a few songs, à la Horrible Histories. “The idea is to impart fabulous Olympic information without turning it into a stuffy lecture,” explains Vitty. “Some huge sporting names will be dropping by, there’ll be quizzes, question-and-answer sessions and live link-ups with Blue Peter’s Helen and Barney. We want young people to ask the questions they’d really like answered about the Olympics and we want their parents to go ‘Wow, I never knew that!’”

About this programme

Radio 1's Dave Vitty takes over 5 Live in an attempt to answer all the questions kids have about the Olympics. Including special guests, quizzes and songs.

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