Does getting my mug on The Wright Stuff and C4 News count?
I managed to get myself on all five TV channels during a week in 1998 (unintentionally) . My proudest, and most visible achievement, was using the photocopier in the BBC Millbank newsroom
I once took BBC One off air during the quiz show bit of the lottery.
Oh god! How did that happen? 😂
The main circuit from Chalfont to TVC was down, so we were on air with the reserve instead. I thought I'd try reseating a frame synchroniser card to see if it would solve the issue, but apparently got the one they were live with. At that point I decided to leave it well alone until after Casualty had started.
Oh, now that I'm more awake, I remember going to TVC twice and got lost in a corridor during my first visit. This was part of filming a pilot in Hammersmith Park with a presenter who later ended up on the sit-up channels.
BBC Choice Scotland. Going into THE BEAT ROOM. I'd previewed the end credits and forgotten to reset the programme duration in the playlist so when it went to air we saw only the end credits. I apologised and punched up the breakdown slide. Swivelled to play the breakdown minidisk, so I didn't notice I'd left the playout on automation. 15 seconds later it started to play the Barker reel in complete silence. Because the breakdown music minidisk refused point blank to play. Suddenly I saw the Barker on screen, punched up the breakdown slide again and hit start on the (reserve) Breakdown music CD. Which played for six seconds then stuttered to a 3 second loop of music. On the other side of the desk I'm trying to reload BEAT ROOM but it's very dark and my eyesight is crap and I can't see the keyboard properly so I put in the wrong programme number and nowt happens. I apologise again. There's no music. Now I yell to Janet in Scot TX to play the tape version of the programme. She spools through four episodes and up comes a VTR clock. I introduce the show and put it to air. It's yesterday's episode. I take it off and put up the (horribly silent) Breakdown Slide again. I yell over talkback for Janet to spool on to the next programme. She does. The VT clock appears. I introduce the programme. Nothing happens. ON AIR I tell Janet to "Roll the VT!!!" She does. We're now 14' 52" late to opt back to the network. At midnight they have a short programme. It runs 14' 52". We opt back so smoothly you just wouldn't believe it. I submit that this beats losing the remote batteries.....
