The Word, Series 3, Episode 1, 30/10/92

# The Word — Series 3, Episode 1 (30 Oct 1992) — Synopsis

The Word kicks off the series by juggling pop scandal, Chelsea scandal, and actual medical scandal—and somehow keeps all three in the air.

**Live music:** Brit upstarts **Suede** swagger in with a Word-exclusive cover of The Pretenders’ “Brass in Pocket” (for Radio 1’s 25th), while **The Sandals** provide the clubby throb that makes the studio lights sweat.

**Neneh Cherry, de-haloed:** Back from Swedish calm with a new album and zero interest in being your “earth-mother role model,” Neneh cheerfully swats away labels, side-eyes a certain glossy “dirty picture” book over oysters, and wades into the Mike Tyson debate without flinching.

**Wild Child 1992—Chelsea edition:** The show crowns a new empress of afters. Qualification criteria: rich parents, expelled at least once, and a nightclub loyalty card. Judges **Piers Morgan** (fresh from the gossip trenches) and **Peter Stringfellow** (proud zookeeper) preside over:

* a **table-top seduction round** (PVC boots: apparently a red card), and
* a **limousine quick-change**—from partywear to school uniform at warp speed.
Scarlett squeaks through half-dressed (on brand); Natalie’s “too small” blazer defense sends her to **Bimbo Limbo**. Taste? Optional. Commitment? Bulletproof.

**Vanessa Paradis & “Sly in Rome”:** France’s pint-sized chanteuse glides through as the continent’s own wild child while a slapstick detour finds **Stallone** getting the pap-treatment in the Eternal City. Culture!

**Because it’s The Word:** a man calmly explains why he spent **£3,000 for “an extra inch where it counts,”** while the show unveils **Access All Areas**—a new behind-the-scenes feeder for the chaos you didn’t know you needed.

Breezy, brazen, and barely legal in places, it’s peak The Word: suede, scandal, and a measuring tape.