A BBC Radio 2 presenter was left red-faced after actor Damian Lewis caught her insulting his music during a live broadcast. The 55-year-old star, known for roles in Band of Brothers and Homeland, was promoting his upcoming album Sweet Chaos on Romesh Ranganathan’s show when traffic presenter Sally Traffic (real name Sally Boazman) walked in and asked, ‘What is this dirge?’
Lewis quickly quipped, ‘This is my record,’ prompting laughter in the studio. Ranganathan then highlighted the blunder, saying, ‘Speaking about Sweet Chaos, let’s talk about what just happened.’ Despite Traffic’s plea not to discuss it, Ranganathan recounted the moment, forcing her to admit: ‘You were playing something and I was listening and I said, “what is this dirge”.’
Lewis joined in the laughter, joking, ‘I put a lot of time and hard work into this, Sally. Into this dirge, into my rock ballads.’ Traffic attempted to backtrack, praising Lewis as a ‘polymath’ and saying the song was ‘very, very good’ after listening more closely.
Lewis, who released his debut album Mission Creep in 2023, described his second album as ‘a bit angrier’ than the first. The album, due on June 5, features a duet with his partner Alison Mosshart of The Kills. He will preview it with intimate in-store performances across the UK in June.
Reflecting on his music career, Lewis said he only started taking it seriously recently, adding, ‘The truth is, you do just respond in the moment to what’s in front of you and if it excites you, you go and do it.’
