30 years since the Late late breakfast show was ended

It's hard to believe that it's 30 years since this continuity announcement was made on BBC1, after an edition of Doctor Who.



For those not in the know, on the Late Late Breakfast show, there was a spinning wheel, which stopped on the name of a stunt that either an audience member, or someone on a telephone, would do in the following weeks show. In the edition dated 8th November 1986, the stunt for the following week was called "Hang em High".

A builder from London, Michael Lush, was the member of the public selected to do this stunt, the following week. It was a bungee jump style stunt, jumping off an exploding box. However, during rehearsals for the stunt a couple of days before broadcasting, something went wrong with the equipment, and Mr Lush was killed. Noel Edmonds resigned from the show, saying he would only return to such a programme if he had the full confidence in the production team he was working with.

As a consequence, the BBC then decided to cancel the show, both for that week and the rest of the series. The BBC was later criticised in court, where it was fined, about the way things were set up.

The main reason for starting this thread is, in the 30 years since this tragic accident, how have things changed in the way TV companies, both broadcasters and production companies, approach things that will involve members of the public? In addition, what were the immediate effects for BBC, ITV and Channel 4 in 1986, straight after this accident?

And, although the incident is described on Wikipedia, there were BBC news reports on Breakfast time the day after the accident. If anyone can find them, please post on here.

There was nothing wrong with the stunts, its just someone at the BBC were doing them on the cheap and couldn't be bothered to listen to Health and safety and using the right equipment.

Since that point in time things have improved, just look at "Dont try this at home".

I thought I'd seen this topic before...

I think it's odd that they chose to name Michael Lush in that announcement, rather than be a bit more vague. Somehow makes the tragedy feel all the more real and I'd have thought they'd want to play it down a bit on air.

Anecdotally at least, many say Health and Safety wasn't even mentioned (certainly to presenters) when filming things which these days would be considered highly risky. Certainly I've seen Peter Purves interviewed about stunts he filmed for Blue Peter, motorbike riding through rings of fire, that sort of thing and he said safety issues weren't even discussed. You can quite clearly see John Noakes climbing Nelson's Column simply by climbing ladders lashed by ropes to the column. He evidently did it totally without any safety equitpent except a Tin hat. I'm pretty sure I remember Simon Groom or Peter Duncan (can't remember which) washing the face of Big Ben by climbing over a parapet and simply lowering himself onto a boson's chair (which is effectively a wooden swing seat). Maybe there was some H&S work that did actually happen, but it certainly didn't appear to be the case to me as a viewer at the time, nor watching the clips again since!

The death of poor Mr Lush was certainly a turning point in the involvement of the public on the BBC and the start of a long process of staff training. Everyone in programme making now has to have H&S training.

Incidentally, a friend of the family's name was also on that wheel...

Does anyone know who that continuity announcer was?

Her voice sounded familiar.

At the time Michael Lush's name was all over the news, all over the front pages of newspapers etc etc.
I think perhaps it might have seemed odd (at that time), not to have referred to him by name

The change in safety culture following Michael Lush's death is highlighted in this letter to The Times from Paul Daniels, in which he responds to criticism of his Iron Maiden Halloween stunt

http://m.imgur.com/rA8bQt4

Great letter, and interesting to see it end with the exact wording of a disclaimer now widely used on Twitter profiles of BBC staff.

I also guess the address given at the end of that letter, was probably his agent, rather than his home.

Even though The Times back in those days had a perceived 'better class of reader' rather than the right wing comic it is today, famous performers wouldn't risk publishing their actual home addresses.

Back to the topic. I would like to read the H&S report into the events of Mr Lush and his death. If only to see how much we've come along since then. I've traulled through the legacy archive of what body is now the HSE but drew a blank.

Almost certainly, Daniels lived on the banks of, (and occasionally in !) the River Thames, near Henley.

The address in his letter, appears today to be a shop

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.5344997,-1.1162229,3a,28.9y,142.22h,86.53t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1seHOzA0A8mDsqNxVQjt0ZRw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

I've seen a summary of the reports findings. The physical cause was using a single caribiner clip to hold Lush on the rope, but it went into a whole list of other causes, including lack of walkie talkies between Lush and the crew, and BBC management of the whole stunt. Can't remember where I found it though......