Spoof Newsflash causes complaints

Apparantly the BBC received 100 complaints last night after a spoof newsflash at the start of BBC1's Children's Party at the Palace was mistaken for being a real newsflash

Personally when I saw it I thought it was a bit dodgy. It was done totally straight and wasn't revealed to be a fake until about 20 seconds in

I thought there was usually a rule that spoof newsflashes must always be done differently from an actual broadcast, for example using an unusual presenter, not filming it straight to camera, or showing it as if we were watching it being watched by someone else etc

Did anyone else see it?

EDIT: Just noticed, it's reported here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5118690.stm

Well for a start, I doubt a real newsflash would be announced by Jonathan Ross - and not immediately after the continuity announcement into the programme!

It was a joke! The complainers need to get a life. Or they could at least put a ticker saying that it was a joke.

***THIS IS A JOKE***THIS IS A JOKE***THIS IS A JOKE***

Really contributes to the comic effect I think.

This is ridiculous - in this case it was obviously a joke!


It's them News 24 ones on them BBC2 docu-dramas they had a phase of doing which really annoyed me!

To be wholly honest i walked in just after Jonathan Ross (so didnt see him) only to see the titles then the spoof report. I was taken in by it for about 10 seconds until I realised they were using the night time backdrop at 6pm daylight!

However I would never have bothered to complain, I mean I have better things to do, but I did afterwards think, this will make it to SnoddyWatch.

I remember the last edition of Wogan in 1992 beginning with a spoof news report from Richard Whitmore (who by then had left the BBC).

What exacly was wogan? Was it a chat show, or what?

Thrice-weekly chat show, axed to make way for the ill-fated Eldorado.

And you could have read the apology from Peter Horrocks on the BBC Editors blog
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/

I would have thought people would have guessed when the newsflash was that 'The Queen has lost her handbag'. Not normally something that makes the national news! Also this was well publicised as the theme of the show at the Palace (in the Radio Times and elsewhere).

Well obviously, but the report went something along the lines of
Jonathan Ross - We now cross over to Huw Edwards for some breaking news
Huw Edwards - Good Evening, there's been a serious incident at Buckingham Palace tonight, we can now cross over to Sophie Raworth who has the latest, Sophie
Sophie Raworth - Indeed Huw, the Queen has lost her handbag...

I can understand how many people who arn't totally familar with TV presentation could have been worried for a few seconds

Personally I think they should have had the usual Headline graphic reading 'Lost Handbag' up from the start, which would have avoided all this fuss