What's the worst thing you have ever witnessed first-hand happen on live tv?

[MyCheeryPearlTraybake]

For me it would have to be Christian Eriksson collapsing at the euros in 2021

Same for me. I remember it really clearly but I must have been pretty young when it happened.

I thought it was part of the act at first. It was awful

Its actually even worse than him collapsing on stage. I only realised later, there was a programme about it. They cut to the break but decided to go on with the show.

The next act was Les Dennis and Dustin Gee, who had to do their act in front of the audience whilst paramedics were working on Cooper behind the stage curtain doing CPR etc

The difference being, we don't have full graphic footage of most historical events occuring live.

It won't affect him the same way, sure, but it's footage of thousands of people dying simultaneously. There are very few images like it.

https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2023/09/18/54173/les_dennis_on_tommy_cooper_dying_on_stage

Jim Davidson.

And then Dustin Gee died in a similar manner. Collapsed on stage, although they did manage to temporarily revive him and he died later in hospital.

TW

I once watched a Brazilian news show not realising that it wouldn't just be graphic but that they would show everything caught on film without a care in the world. One such piece they showed in all its glory was a woman walking along in Rio getting attacked by a man who plunged a 12 inch carving knife straight through her head as everyone just walked past.

On one episode of IACGMOOH John Lydon (who kept getting voted to stay in by the public) got voted to stay in yet again.

I'll never forget this. Back then it was on before the watershed. Despite the warning by Ant&Dec to please not swear, John's reaction to the news was to say "F*%k^ng c£nt$" in that slow, sardonic voice of his.

I was watching with my parents and didn't know where to look. I may have covered my face. Never forgotten it.

9/11
grenfell
people escaping earthquakes
other bombing aftermaths
various election results

I mean these days I don’t think you could describe Phillip Schofield as a ‘poor man’
given what he’s done, he’s pretty shit.

I've seen only two of these things live - 9/11 on BBC News on the internet at work and the Grenfell fire.

I was at work on 9/11 and a friend who worked at the Beeb rang me as she'd realised it was major. I was talking to her as she described the second plane hitting so I put the news on. I remember I didn't compute that it was start of the working day in NYC it was around 2pm here in the UK.

My dad saw the Bradford fire as it was happening live on Grandstand.

Please don’t blame the SAS for this. It was actually a big success. They did their job. Rescuing hostages is very complex. It’s not all about men abseiling down ropes wearing balaclavas.

They didn’t ask for the world’s media to film them either.

The second plane hitting on 9/11, I was in my livingroom faffling about, with tv on in background, then the atmosphere changed and I looked at the tv and watched as the 2nd plane went in. I was confused, but knew it was serious, so I turned tv up and sat down, absolutely glued to tv, the hairs on thr back of my neck stood up, the fear of what was happening was horrible, I'll never forget it, as long as I live.

The first thing was Tommy Cooper.
9/11, on my bosses computer at work.

For those saying 9/11 did you actually watch it live?

It’s probably been said somewhere here already but watching the Space Challenger explosion in 1986. The cold horror stays with me. I just couldn’t believe what I was watching, the silence on the TV. Knowing they were dead or dying inside. Awful

Yes, I was at work and my boss was on her computer, I think it was the only one that allowed internet. and she suddenly went oh my god or something like that so we watched it on that. I remember it quite well.

The Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004, watching the news coverage as the devastation and impact was realised.

Yes, watched it all unfold live. I happened to tune in just after the first plane struck and thought it must be a light plane and an accident. I'll never forget the clear blue sky and then after a little the second plane coming in and hitting the building. It really was an absolutely horrific sight and series of events following on from that. Parts of it were so surreal (like all the thousands of bits of paper floating down) that it seemed like a movie.

Im glad someone else said that, I was going to mention it but it seemed a bit underwhelming compared to all the 9/11 and Hillsborough tales.

9/11 watched the second plane hit live. Absolutely unbelievable. And totally shocking. I was on a work training course and we had all broken out to watch the news. And then that 2nd plane hit. Terrible.

I did.

I was pg with DC 3 with severe PGP so could barely walk. So I was sitting in the lounge with the news on and as the breaking news reports were being filled in the second plane went in and it was honestly the most shocking thing I have ever seen.

I got to school to pick the kids up and hardly anyone knew about it, and those that did just thought it must have been an accident, which shocked me further as it was obvious that it hadnt been.

Tommy cooper dying
Iranian siege
challenger
Hillsborough
9/11

9/11 and Challenger.