BBC1 Fault 1991 (TV-Ark)

One of my favourite breakdown memories was In the early 1990's from ITV, when during an episode of Home and Away, part two failed to materialise.

On this occasion remember slides and music for ages, and then an announcer apology before abandoning it and putting on a cartoon - here's the clip from Tyne Tees...

http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/mivana/mediaplayer.php?id=ae2ab465bbae41d7eda5529bb468d0d4&media=tttv_fault_invision&type=mp4

Viewers there fared better than viewers in Borderland, who were treated to a menu slide for ages, a bizarre clip of camel racing in the Gobi desert then another menu for ages (we lived on the border so got both channels!)

There was a great example of this on the fiftieth anniversary of D Day in 1994 when they were showing a special programme from the QEII featuring Vera Lynn and so on, and as I recall, it started with no sound, so they went back to presentation and after a few minutes, decided they could never go back to it and showed Wildlife on One for the rest of the slot. They then rescheduled the D Day show again for three days later when it went out without a hitch. I'm thinking the show was pre-recorded a few hours before transmission and then transmitted from the ship but they couldn't do it, rather than having to remount the whole thing again.

I also remember in the first few months of Channel Five they had to show a repeat of The Jack Docherty Show as that night's episode, which was due to feature Paul Daniels, couldn't be shown. I remember David Baddiel was on the repeat because he turned up again a few weeks later and said he'd heard his last appearance had been repeated because there'd been "a problem" with the Paul Daniels episode and wondered if that was a euphemism. But it wasn't, they just had technical problems. I seem to recall they showed the missing episode later in the week, giving everyone an unexpected day off.

Also, in January 1999, C4 showed a documentary about office parties which was being edited right to the last minute, went to the ad break and then had to sheepishly announce part two wasn't ready yet, so they had to show it an hour later.

Haha, wow really? Why isn't that more well-known?

There was an incident with That's Life in a similar vein. They used to record early evening for transmission later that night. On one occasion the studio (TV Theatre) had to be evacuated half way through the recording due to an IRA bomb scare, so pres had to play out what was on tape (it was recorded on machines at TVC) and hope that the all clear had been given in time for the studio to do the rest of the show live.

I dunno, I remember they did a bit about it on Right to Reply and C4 had to do a grovelling apology. Famously in 1984, the final ever episode of C4's controversial current affairs programme The Friday Alternative went out 24 hours late as the courier taking the tape of the show forgot what channel it was on and took it to the BBC instead.

that reminds me of a guest turning up at BBC to appear on breakfast time when they were meant to be on TVAM

remember channel four falling off air for a whole day due to a gas leak in 2002

Does that show exist complete in the archives?

Was a 'Programme As Broadcast' made?

That clip's expired by the way!

It was only a couple of hours midafternoon wasn't it?

It's in the Tyne Tees continuity page. TV Ark is still a pain for copying and pasting links.