Sue Lawley: "We have rather been invaded"

Thanks. I never heard anything about it until the video went viral. Such as a procesecution. That’s what made me think it was some viral stunt.

Here's how it was covered on the News at Ten that night, with some great artists impressions


And the 9 o clock news (oddly with a brief shot of Peter Sissons on channel 4 news at the beginning)

This is going off the point a bit but that was a pretty chaotic week for the Beeb as a few days later they discovered asbestos at TV Centre so had to close the main studios for a couple of weeks while they dealt with it. TC8 was still available (cos it was built after all the others) so they could still use that but in the meantime other shows had to shuffle off to Pres B, Lime Grove, the Greenwood Theatre or anywhere else they could find. Blue Peter went to the garden, famously Doctor Who put up a tent outside Elstree, Top of the Pops linked videos and repeats from the gallery and That's Life had to be replaced by a repeat.

Although the news studios weren't affected, Breakfast Time and Newsnight came from TC2 at the time so they had to move to the Six O'Clock News studio for a week or so. And while that was all going on they also had all the controversy over the drama Tumbledown. Quite the few weeks at TV Centre.

I'm assuming it's this episode

02/06/88 (Nicky Campbell & Peter Powell)
Aswad – “Give A Little Love” (video)
Desireless – “Voyage Voyage” (video)
Tiffany – “I Saw Him Standing There” (video)
The Timelords – “Doctorin’ The Tardis” (breaker)
Voice Of The Beehive – “Don’t Call Me Baby” (breaker)
Five Star – “Another Weekend” (breaker)
Aztec Camera – “Somewhere In My Heart” (rpt from 19/05/88 )
Rod Stewart – “Lost In You” (video)
Wet Wet Wet – “With A Little Help From My Friends” (1) (rpt from 12/05/88 )
Belinda Carlisle – “Circle In The Sand” (video/credits)

TC1 was being refurbished at the time, it halted that project back almost a year I seem to recall (I've got a feeling it was the TC1 work, that caused the discovery)

I actually thought it was kids mucking about in my front garden, and I flung the front door open brandishing the wooden spoon I was holding. A few years earlier a couple of women had made it into Wogan's radio studio at BH. Even more remarkable. Not sure whether they were from the same protest group, or a different set of nutters. Nothing was heard on air.

A spokesman for the council said "this has absolutely nothing to do with us.."

So what was moved from TVC down to the TV theatre, to turf Dame Esther out of the usual Sunday evening birth?

My bad! Sorry chaps! It was indeed Buerk and Hayton on the 9.

The equivalent event for my generation was the National Lottery 2006 invasion, which felt incredible to watch at the time - especially as that year's Eurovision was minutes away from starting.

What was the year when Jan Leeming was attacked by intruders in the BBC Newsroom an hour before going on air with the Sunday late news? If I recall correctly, it was around the same time. And Christopher Morris (the on duty reporter) had to step in.

Again, sorry for the thread creep.

Google and a bit of maths suggest 1987 ?

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12512345.Leeming_attacker_jailed_for_murder_Three_tortured_victim_for_hours_before_killing_him/