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What just happened with Nicholas Witchell on BBC news?

105 replies

MyOtherProfile · 06/05/2019 22:17

He was supposed to be saying something about the royal birthday but couldn't put a sentence together. He said excuse me while I gather my thoughts, then he had to just hand back to the studio.

Surely he cant be that overcome with emotion about the new baby? It made me wonder if something was wrong with him. Bit worrying.

OP posts:
NoughtpercentAPR · 06/05/2019 23:05

Being a royal correspondent places give journalistic importance on this for NW.

Not objectively. Real journalistic importance is stuff that directly affects the constitution or the immediate direct heirs to the throne - like the Queen or DoE dying, the Prince of Wales losing his Freedom of Information case and having to disclose his spidery letters or marrying Camilla, or Prince William having his first child.

This is just celeb gossip.

ceeveebee · 06/05/2019 23:07

It sounded like he said “no, of course” as if he was talking to the person shouting in his ear, think they were telling him not to mention race and it threw him off his thread

IhavetoD0something · 06/05/2019 23:07

blimey. he seemed delighted with himself for having thought of something interesting to say and then he FORGOT what it was!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

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ChicCroissant · 06/05/2019 23:07

I'm also of the opinion that he was being told to hand back, for whatever reason! I think he was being told to stop, which is probably why he stalled the first time. Hope he's OK and it was just someone panicking in his earpiece!

SarahJinx · 06/05/2019 23:07

@wincarnis I thought the exact same thing, that he could t work out how to phrase it appropriately and then gave up!

NoughtpercentAPR · 06/05/2019 23:10

It sounded like he said “no, of course” as if he was talking to the person shouting in his ear,

I don't think so. If you watch it, it sounds like he is saying "And we know of course...." and then loses it.

AnyFucker · 06/05/2019 23:15

He looks older than 65

LarkDescending · 06/05/2019 23:15

Yes the first time it’s “we know, of course, that...” and the second time “it’s certain, of course...”

LillithsFamiliar · 06/05/2019 23:16

It could have been related to the Anglo-American/going to Africa comments but I'm not sure they told him to hand back. The studio looked completely thrown.

Bridiehouse · 06/05/2019 23:22

I was watching him on the BBC News channel earlier and he was talking about Harry and Meghan possibly wanting to acknowledge both of their respective cultures in their baby name choice so I imagine that’s what he was about to say.

NoughtpercentAPR · 06/05/2019 23:28

but I'm not sure they told him to hand back.

I used to work in news broadcast TV. The live broadcasts aren't just totally made up on spec. The news running order is decided in a news conference and although it changes as the news changes during the day, the director will always know what the live is going to be about and the angle. The presenter's questions to the live broadcaster are pre-scripted.

The sort of situation where there would be an unexpected call back to the studio would be if the live was being interrupted or attacked by spectators or if something so earth shattering had happened that it needed to be cut short. It's very rare.

fromsheffieldtobrighton · 06/05/2019 23:35

A bit off topic but it might have been better if the BBC had found a black/mixed race female presenter to present this news item and not a middle aged white man. It shows exactly what an uphill battle there still is in front of us,

Fromage · 06/05/2019 23:38

Isn't Peter Phillips married to an American, and they have a couple of children?

I think he might have been hearing one thing in his ear and had a producer leaping around behind the camera trying to convey something else. Or there was a pisshead streaker likely to moon the nation at any moment.

floraloctopus · 06/05/2019 23:40

Earlier on the BBC he said something about how the RF hadn't been told about the baby being born (or I misheard) which struck me as rather strange. I thought he was older than 65 as well, I'm sure he was broadcasting when I was a child.

JessieMcJessie · 06/05/2019 23:43

Autumn Phillips is Canadian. So she’s a subject of the Queen just like British people.

MidsomerBurgers · 06/05/2019 23:43

A bit off topic but it might have been better if the BBC had found a black/mixed race female presenter to present this news item and not a middle aged white man. It shows exactly what an uphill battle there still is in front of us,

Does it really matter what colour or sex anyone is? I just want the best person for the job, regardless.

mingebags · 06/05/2019 23:45

Fromsheffieldtobrighton

Get a grip! He's the royal correspondent for the BBC, it's his job to report on these things. I understand the point you're trying to labour, but this really isn't an issue here. If there wasn't a royal correspondent who has spent 20 years reporting on the same sorts of things and knew the history, and it was just up to any old journo to report it then fair enough, but you are creating problems and divisions where none exist.

gluteustothemaximus · 06/05/2019 23:49

Good job I'm not a journalist doing live TV. I lose my train of thought several times every day Grin

Fromage · 06/05/2019 23:54

Ah, I stand corrected on the American issue.

wrt to a non white person doing the job - there is a dearth on the bbc and everywhere else, mo matter what their correspondent speciality

NW is, however, a ginger. So he was at least representing Harry. Grin

CooperD1 · 06/05/2019 23:54

@fromsheffieldtobrighton lol . 'Find another journalist ...' You ARE aware he's the royal correspondent yeah? Like, it's his job.

allworthwhile · 06/05/2019 23:56

It shows exactly what an uphill battle there still is in front of us,

What do you mean?

floraloctopus · 07/05/2019 00:11

A bit off topic but it might have been better if the BBC had found a black/mixed race female presenter to present this news item

I think there should be more people of different backgrounds (sex/gender/class/whatever) reading the news but intentionally finding somebody who is mixed race/black would be positive discrimination and I don't much like that either. I always wanted to get a job based on my skills and nothing else.

CrispbuttyNo1 · 07/05/2019 00:14

I would say that newsreaders and reporters are one area of television that does embrace lots of races, accents and genders.

AginNAgin · 07/05/2019 00:18

I was thinking he looked like a man in his seventies. Never heard of him/seen him/noticed him before this.
I think he fluffed up a word earlier and then seemed to totally lose his train of thought - looked down at his notes etc.
Surely they're not that sensitive about the mixed heritage of the child that they've banned all mention of it?

MashPotatoMashPotato · 07/05/2019 00:19

I think someone up thread is maybe correct, he sounded like he was about to say something about race. He started off saying the first Anglo-American birth, he then continues with “and of course...” someone has probably screamed in his ear “Nicolas don’t go there” so it’s totally thrown him and made him lose his point, he’s not been able to think fast enough on live TV. To be fair there’s not exactly much to be said or report, “they’ve had a boy”, he does well to pad it out as much as he did.