:-(
Current Affairs was based at Lime Grove, News was based at TV Centre (and has always been since it came over from Alexandra Palace AFAIK)
Breakfast Time started at Lime Grove it might still have been there at the time.
A former member
Steve in Pudsey posted:
Was the news operation not based at Lime Grove at the time of the storm, and that was without power but TVC (or at least pres) was operational?
Current Affairs was based at Lime Grove, News was based at TV Centre (and has always been since it came over from Alexandra Palace AFAIK)
Breakfast Time started at Lime Grove it might still have been there at the time.
:-(
I suspect that either the back up generators only powered up the Pres galleries and not news.
Could have been worse, I've heard a clip of LBC Radio that morning. The 2 presenters (one of them Bob Holness) presented part of the programme from a radio car parked outside becaue the studio had no power
A former member
Dan posted:
Presumably the storms affected the power supply to parts of TVC then, or was it just that there was no one in to run a news gallery at that time of day back then? Anyone know? Calling Noggin 
I suspect that either the back up generators only powered up the Pres galleries and not news.
Could have been worse, I've heard a clip of LBC Radio that morning. The 2 presenters (one of them Bob Holness) presented part of the programme from a radio car parked outside becaue the studio had no power
:-(
I think your memory is playing tricks, I don't think he did a full 2 hours like that.
There is a clip I've seen somewhere of a region that morning. There was no programming from London, just a slide apologising for no programmes. They opted out as usual for the Breakfast Time regional news as well as the newsreader popping up every so often explaining what was going on.
A former member
rdobbie posted:
Just to get loosely back to the topic - ie. BBC improvisation in emergencies - the most spectacular example of this was during the big storm (1987 I think) when Nick Witchell ran a one-man broadcast all morning from the Childrens BBC broom cupboard, with all the pictures and cuddly toys stripped from the walls. There was no graphics, no VT, in fact nothing except Witchell on a fixed camera for 2 hours or so.
I think your memory is playing tricks, I don't think he did a full 2 hours like that.
There is a clip I've seen somewhere of a region that morning. There was no programming from London, just a slide apologising for no programmes. They opted out as usual for the Breakfast Time regional news as well as the newsreader popping up every so often explaining what was going on.
RD
No, my mind's definitely not playing tricks and it was roughly between 0700-0900 that Witchell did his stint. As there was no VT he would occasionally "wheel in" a guest to sit next to him to break the monotony. I distinctly remember discussing it with friends on the day and for a long time afterwards.
I can only assume that it didn't go out on all regions - I was in the North West.
Larry Scutta posted:
I think your memory is playing tricks, I don't think he did a full 2 hours like that.
There is a clip I've seen somewhere of a region that morning. There was no programming from London, just a slide apologising for no programmes. They opted out as usual for the Breakfast Time regional news as well as the newsreader popping up every so often explaining what was going on.
There is a clip I've seen somewhere of a region that morning. There was no programming from London, just a slide apologising for no programmes. They opted out as usual for the Breakfast Time regional news as well as the newsreader popping up every so often explaining what was going on.
No, my mind's definitely not playing tricks and it was roughly between 0700-0900 that Witchell did his stint. As there was no VT he would occasionally "wheel in" a guest to sit next to him to break the monotony. I distinctly remember discussing it with friends on the day and for a long time afterwards.
I can only assume that it didn't go out on all regions - I was in the North West.
AS
Most people would probably agree it's a problem if you have to evacuate a studio 3 mins before you're about to go on air when there's not really a fire. It's a waste of a whole day of rehearsing/programme budgets etc.
Barney Boo posted:
I've uh...read it before.
And for the hell of it, I read again....
I'm yet to reach enlightenment,
And for the hell of it, I read again....
I'm yet to reach enlightenment,
Most people would probably agree it's a problem if you have to evacuate a studio 3 mins before you're about to go on air when there's not really a fire. It's a waste of a whole day of rehearsing/programme budgets etc.
DE
No, my mind's definitely not playing tricks and it was roughly between 0700-0900 that Witchell did his stint. As there was no VT he would occasionally "wheel in" a guest to sit next to him to break the monotony. I distinctly remember discussing it with friends on the day and for a long time afterwards.
I can only assume that it didn't go out on all regions - I was in the North West.
I well remember the "Broomcupboard Breakfast" - Nick Witchell in NC1's Announcer's booth with a highly improvised programme. There is a clip somewhere on the web of a South West opt out. It's just before 7am and there's a BBC One SW symbol, followed by in vision newsreader explaining that due to the storm in London, there's no network programming at the moment. He proceeds to read a weather forecast before (somewhat hastily) handing to London after all.
I lived in the Midlands at the time, but don't recall if Pebble Mill managed any opt-outs. ISTR that the storm badly affected the Midlands as well as the South and East. Is there any footage of this programme on the web?
AFAIK, the old BBC ONE Presentation galleries had diesel generators to sustain the networks in the event of mains power failure. I think TVC still has diesel back-up, but it's well known that they didn't quite work well enough in the power failure a couple of years ago (they overheated and had to be shut down!)
rdobbie posted:
Larry Scutta posted:
I think your memory is playing tricks, I don't think he did a full 2 hours like that.
There is a clip I've seen somewhere of a region that morning. There was no programming from London, just a slide apologising for no programmes. They opted out as usual for the Breakfast Time regional news as well as the newsreader popping up every so often explaining what was going on.
There is a clip I've seen somewhere of a region that morning. There was no programming from London, just a slide apologising for no programmes. They opted out as usual for the Breakfast Time regional news as well as the newsreader popping up every so often explaining what was going on.
No, my mind's definitely not playing tricks and it was roughly between 0700-0900 that Witchell did his stint. As there was no VT he would occasionally "wheel in" a guest to sit next to him to break the monotony. I distinctly remember discussing it with friends on the day and for a long time afterwards.
I can only assume that it didn't go out on all regions - I was in the North West.
I well remember the "Broomcupboard Breakfast" - Nick Witchell in NC1's Announcer's booth with a highly improvised programme. There is a clip somewhere on the web of a South West opt out. It's just before 7am and there's a BBC One SW symbol, followed by in vision newsreader explaining that due to the storm in London, there's no network programming at the moment. He proceeds to read a weather forecast before (somewhat hastily) handing to London after all.
I lived in the Midlands at the time, but don't recall if Pebble Mill managed any opt-outs. ISTR that the storm badly affected the Midlands as well as the South and East. Is there any footage of this programme on the web?
AFAIK, the old BBC ONE Presentation galleries had diesel generators to sustain the networks in the event of mains power failure. I think TVC still has diesel back-up, but it's well known that they didn't quite work well enough in the power failure a couple of years ago (they overheated and had to be shut down!)
BB
I thought it caught fire/blew up?
deejay posted:
I think TVC still has diesel back-up, but it's well known that they didn't quite work well enough in the power failure a couple of years ago (they overheated and had to be shut down!)
I thought it caught fire/blew up?