Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Wake up and embrace the day with Zoe Ball! Comedy queen Miranda Hart lets us in on her Christmas Special and we surprise another Christmas Day Superhero!

Wake up and embrace the day with Zoe Ball!

Miranda Hart brings laughs and smiles this morning when she talks about what we can expect from her Christmas Special this year!

Plus Zoe calls up our final Christmas Day Superhero, the fantastic Dr Sarah Holmes from Bradford! She was nominated by her mum and sister for all always going above and beyond for the hospice she works in.

Along with Tina Daheley on news, Richie Anderson on travel and Mike Williams on sport, she and the team have the best start to your morning. With headlines, tunes chosen by listeners, and more music that you can shake a glitterball at!

There's also weather with Carol Kirkwood, a daily Pause For Thought and listeners on the line, as Zoe entertains the nation with fun for the family!

2 hours, 59 minutes

Last on

Thu 19 Dec 2019 06:30
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2

More episodes

Previous

Mackenzie Crook

Next

Lulu, Lee Mack and Richard E Grant

See all episodes from The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show

Music Played

  • Wham!

    Last Christmas

    • That's Christmas (Various Artists).
    • EMI.

  • Taylor Swift

    Christmas Tree Farm

    • (CD Single).
    • TS/Republic.

  • Blur

    Country House

    • The Best Album In The World Ever!(Va).
    • Virgin.

  • Pretenders

    2000 Miles

    • The Best Christmas Album In The World.
    • Virgin.

  • Mary J. Blige

    This Christmas

    • A Mary Christmas.
    • Decca.

  • Greg Lake

    I Believe In Father Christmas

    • The Anthology, A Musical Journey.
    • BMG.

  • James Blunt

    The Truth

    • Once Upon A Mind.
    • Atlantic.

  • Basement Jaxx

    Do Your Thing

    • (CD Single).
    • XL.
    • 12.

  • Ariana Grande

    Santa Tell Me

    • Christmas Kisses.
    • Universal Music.

  • Billy Ocean

    Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)

    • Billy Ocean - Love Is For Ever (L.I.F.
    • Jive.

  • Harry Styles

    Adore You

    • Fine Line.
    • Columbia.

  • Boney M.

    Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord

    • That's Christmas (Various Artists).
    • EMI.

  • Deacon Blue

    City Of Love

    • City Of Love.
    • earMUSIC.

  • Arthur Conley

    Sweet Soul Music

    • Shades Of Soul (Various Artists).
    • Global Television.

  • Bruce Springsteen

    Dancing In The Dark

    • Bruce Springsteen - Greatest Hits.
    • Columbia.

  • SHAED

    Trampoline (feat. ZAYN)

    • (CD Single).
    • Sony.

  • Burl Ives

    A Holly Jolly Christmas

    • The Essential Now That's What I Call Christmas (Various Artists).
    • UMG Recordings.
    • 7.

  • Pet Shop Boys

    It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas

    • SMASH - The Singles 1985-2020.
    • Rhino.
    • 1.

  • Little Mix

    One I've Been Missing

  • Lulu

    Independence

    • Now 24 (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Sia

    Santa's Coming For Us

    • Everyday Is Christmas.
    • Atlantic.

  • London City Singers

    Jingle Bell Rock

  • London City Singers

    I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

  • London City Singers

    The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)

  • Robbie Williams

    Best Christmas Ever

    • The Christmas Present: Christmas Past.
    • Farrell Music.

  • Gabriella Cilmi

    Warm This Winter

    • (CD Single).
    • Universal.
    • 1.

  • Stormzy

    Blinded By Your Grace, Pt. 2 (feat. MNEK)

    • Gang Sings & Prayer.
    • Merky Records.

Pause For Thought

Pause For Thought

From Sheridan Voysey, Writer and broadcaster: 

I was listening on Monday morning when you had Stormzy on, and his year five teacher ‘Miss Wheeler’ called in. I don’t know which bit moved me most—Miss Wheeler saying she’d sobbed with pride watching him perform at Glastonbury, or the fact that after all these years, he still called her ‘Miss’!

That moment took my memory back to June and the Pyramid Stage, when Stormzy turned Glastonbury’s 100-thousand-strong crowd, and some of us watching at home, into an impromptu church choir, singing: Lord, I've been broken / Although I'm not worthy, You fixed me / I'm blinded by your grace.It was spine-tingling stuff.

Of course, as it turned out, that wasn’t the only ‘religious’ music moment of the year. Having once likened himself to God, Kanye West released an album declaring Jesus was now his ‘king’, and Coldplay’s new album is full of ‘hallelujahs’ and prayers, including the Stormzy-like line: Lord, when I'm broken / Come shine your light on me.

To me these spiritual interludes in our secular world make sense. Last year a poll revealed that a fifth of non-religious people pray in times of crisis. And when answers come, it can make you want to sing. It’s something you see in the Christmas story, songs erupting around Jesus’ birth: Mary sings of corrupt leaders being brought low, angels sing of peace on earth, and old man named Zechariah sings that a light has come for those in darkness, ready to guide them home.  

Darkness features heavily in Christmas traditions, with carols about Silent Nightsand Christmas cards depicting wise men on camels on star-filled evenings. It resonates, I think because Christmas comes in cold, dark winter, but for me it makes spiritual sense too. We all know there’s corruption in the world, that peace hasn’t yet won, that there’s darkness on our streets and in our lives. And so for me Christmas brings fulfilment to the Glastonbury moments and secular prayers. 

With Zechariah, I thank God the light of the world has come.

With Stormzy, I marvel at its blinding brightness.

With Coldplay I pray for that light to shine on me.

Merry Christmas to you.

Broadcast

  • Thu 19 Dec 2019 06:30
    Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 2