Rob & Romesh Vs: Every episode from Series 5

This week Rob & Romesh take on Korean Pop Music aka K-Pop and where better to start than heading to the place where it all began, Seoul in South Korea. First stop on the K-Pop journey is to meet up-and-coming band TRI.BE and get some advice on how to crack the industry. It’s not long until Rob & Rom are pushed out of their comfort zone when they’re tasked with performing at a karaoke bar, so the band can assess their singing ability. As we discovered in Rob & Rom Vs Musicals, Rob cannot carry a tune which is why TRI.BE politely suggest he can be the ‘visual’ member of the group whilst Rom is the rapper.

To Rob & Rom’s horror, TRI.BE have arranged for the pair to perform at Hongdae Street – the heart of K-pop and where crowds gather in the evenings to watch young people dance and lip sync to K-pop hits. To help them prepare for the performance, they’ve scheduled some breakdancing training with Difer Kim and his dance group.

After exhausting themselves with dance practice, it’s time for some self-care – as recommended by the members of TRI.BE – so Rob & Rom head off to a traditional Korean spa. The vigorous body scrub leaves the pair feeling invigorated, but the feeling is short-lived with the pair heading for a penis steam.

Their final stop ahead of their performance is meeting with Cheri and Nara, stylists to some of K-pop’s megastars, to finalise their outfits. From pastel-inspired looks to K-pop sexy style, Rob & Rom try on a number of different outfits with mixed results. Finally, it’s performance time. After a last-minute rehearsal, Rob & Rom head to Hongdae Street to give it all they’ve got...which - if we’re being honest - isn’t much.

TRI.BE is a South Korean girl group formed in 2021, which consists of seven members: Songsun, Kelly, Jinha, Hyunbin, Jia, Soeun and Mire. The group debuted in February 2021, with the release of their debut album Tri.be Da Loca.

In Rob & Rom Vs TRI.BE meet with the pair to give them some much-needed advice on how to break into the industry.

Hongdae is a neighbourhood in Seoul. It is known for its urban arts and music scene and has been popular with young Koreans for years. Busking and dancing has become so popular in Hongdae Street that people show up early to secure a space for the night where they can watch K-pop choreography.

Cheri is a South Korean artist and stylist who is tasked with getting Rob & Rom outfits for their performance.

Nara is a stylist and influencer, who is taking the fashion world by storm. Known for her quirky creations, Nara has styled a number of K-pop superstars for their magazine covers.

This week it’s the big one… Crufts. As proud dog owners, Rob & Romesh will be going head-to-head, accompanied by their own dogs, in an agility challenge at Crufts. But with six months to go until Crufts, there’s plenty of time for some all-important training.

First up, Rob & Rom decide it’s time to introduce their pups to each other and it’s clear to see who the master is. Clue: it’s not them! So, it’s time to call in the reinforcements, with the pair meeting dog trainer and seven-time Crufts champion Ashleigh Butler to get some top-tips. After a quick lesson from Ashleigh it’s time for some practical training, with Rob & Rom heading to the agility field with their pooches where Rom struggles to get his dog, Reggie, to listen to his commands.

Next up Rob & Rom head to train in flyball – a dog sport where teams of dogs race against each other, over a line of hurdles, to a box that releases a ball – all in an attempt to become a better dog handler. After practicing with the professional dogs, it’s time for Reggie and Freddie to have a go. Unsurprisingly, being a whippet, Rob’s dog – Freddie – smashes it!

A couple of months later Rob & Rom catch up to see where they’re at and it quickly emerges that Rom’s been putting Reggie through some secret agility lessons. Could they have the advantage?

As every Crufts champion knows, how you look is just as important as your agility skills. So, Rob & Rom head to a dog groomer to learn how they can make Reggie and Fred look a million dollars.

Finally, it’s crunch time and in a display of pure confidence, Rob & Rom decide to spend their final few minutes giving a TV interview to Channel 4 instead of preparing for the agility course. One- by-one Rob & Rom take to the course with their dogs to showcase whether all the training has paid off.

Crufts is an annual dog show held in the UK. It features a number of unique dog events and competitions, all in celebration of dogs.

Ashleigh Butler is a dog trainer best known for being part of British dog trick act, Ashleigh and Pudsey. Together they achieved prominence when they competed on Britain’s Got Talent. Ashleigh is also an accomplished agility trainer, having won Crufts a number of times.

This week Rob & Rom are on a mission to become classical music maestros, joining the world-famous London Philharmonic Orchestra. They journey through some of music’s greatest hits before performing at the one-and-only Royal Festival Hall in London.

It’s not a great start as the pair confess to being fairly closed-off to classical music, with Rob predicting that conducting will be the part he’s most aligned to. The pair meet musician and broadcaster, Jess Gillam MBE, so they can get a run-down on classical music. Jess plays some well-known classical tracks and challenges the pair at trying to name the composers and songs, with Rob proving to be a bit of a dark horse.

After their beginner’s lesson, they head to the LPO rehearsal HQ to meet conductor Matthew Lynch so he can assess their musical skills and see if he has room in his orchestra for the duo. Rob gets off to a bad start as Rom decides to throw him under the bus and share what Rob’s opinions are of conductors – “a load of shit”. After a quick demo of how conducting is done, Rob and Rom take to the stage. A cocky Rob fails rather spectacularly but Rom having seen where Rob went wrong, pulls it out of the bag with a phenomenal performance.

Next up the pair try a number of different instruments, to see if there’s any they can master. Spoiler: they can’t. So, they head to Venice to try a completely different classical discipline…opera.

For their first stop in Venice, they meet opera baritone Maurizio to get a crash course in the art of opera singing. After some comical breathing exercises that involve lying on the floor with a book on their chest, they finally start practicing the singing ahead of their challenge that evening - performing with the Musici Veneziani live on-stage. Hours before the performance it’s time for the dress rehearsal with the full orchestra but if anything, this just adds to Rob & Rom’s confusion. But as the say the show must go on, so, outfits donned they head out for the performance.

Back in London, the duo meet Matthew again so he can let them know the plan for their big LPO performance. They find out the song they’ll be performing is Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma, with Rob playing the drums and a terrified Rom singing the lead tenor role…in Italian. With minimal time left before the performance, the pair head straight into rehearsals before taking to the stage in front of a packed audience.

One standing ovation later and they’ve done it. Whilst it’s unlikely they’ll be pursuing a career in opera singing, it’s safe to say their opinion on classical music has changed for the better.

Jess Gillam is a musician who shot to fame when she became the first saxophonist to become a finalist on BBC Young Musician. Alongside performing as a musician, Jess is a TV and radio presenter working on shows such as BBC Proms and BBC Young Musicians.

In this episode, Jess is tasked with giving Rob & Rom a crash course in classical music ahead of their performance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Matthew Lynch is a conductor, who has worked with orchestras across Europe and conducted operas in both the UK and Germany.

In Rob & Rom Vs Classical Music, Matthew meets with the duo to assess their music skills and determine what role they can have when they join the London Philharmonic Orchestra for a performance at the Royal Festival Hall.

Want to see more? - Discover everything you need to know about the series here >

From strutting a catwalk to dodging the NFL - Find out what the duo get up to in Series 1 here >

Unlocking new talents - From leotards to cricket whites, find out how the duo take on new challenges in Series 2 >

Fresh off a Season 2 BAFTA nomination - Read on to see how the duo take on the world of art, golf and drag here >

Singing, cooking and weightlifting - Discover how the duo take on Strongman, the West End and restaurant management in Series 4 here >

If the original series wasn’t enough... - Find out how the duo take on more challenges in this series of specials >