Not a Good Morning TV

A burst water main in London forced GMTV off the air for 16 minutes following a massive power cut this morning.

The water main on Tooley Street burst at 4am, flooding an electrical substation.

At 6.16am, Penny Smith and Andrew Castle broke into a back-up tape, to start today’s live broadcast.

GMTV said in a statement: “We’d like to apologise for transmission problems during this morning’s programme

We’re sorry for any on-air disruption caused after a massive power cut earlier today.

The cut affected London’s South Bank, where the studios are located, around 20 minutes before the show was due to go on air at 6am, a GMTV spokeswoman said.

A back-up tape was played for about 10 minutes, before the presenters were able to start broadcasting live from the studio.

The problems affected digital viewers for a longer period than those watching on analogue, the spokeswoman said, but normal service resumed for everyone at around 7.45am.”

Engineers at the site of of the incident said: “We’re investigating what caused this burst but our main focus now is carrying out a thorough clean-up,” a Thames Water spokeswoman said.

“The main will be fixed today and reinstatement of the road will take about a week. We apologise for the disruption road-users will face.”

Posted by on Thursday 14 May 2009
Posted in
fiona phillips Image

Former GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips has announced she is battling Alzheimer’s. The 62 year old told the Mirror “This disease

TV presenter Eamonn Holmes has been awarded an OBE for his services to broadcasting in the 2018 New Year’s Honours

dan lobb Image

Dan Lobb will present his final Daybreak this morning as the ITV breakfast show comes to an end in its

Copy link