I've just been watching the video of the disastrous opening night of BBC2. It's only just occurred to me that if the sound failure had lasted a few seconds longer, the first thing the general public heard on the new channel would have been the words "stinking wogs"!
Gerald Priestland did a remarkable job that evening. Was he dressed casually because he'd been brought in at short notice, or was it a deliberate attempt to project a different image?
BBC2 launch
Re: BBC2 launch
The first Line-Up was always intended to contain a news summary, although a separate reader isn't credited.
BBC 1 had Richard Baker intriducing an old Western film that had been kept at AP as a standby.
BBC 1 had Richard Baker intriducing an old Western film that had been kept at AP as a standby.
Re: BBC2 launch
Was the news summary due to be read by the presenters at Television Centre, though, or from the newsroom at Alexandra Palace? In other words, was Gerald Priestland expecting to appear on screen at all that evening?
Re: BBC2 launch
Apart from the headlines, Newsroom was supposed to be on at 22:35 up to closedown at 23:00.