Thomas Woodrooffe at the Coronation Fleet Review

Some of the best remembered moments in broadcasting are not great programmes or events, but the times when things go wrong. One such was the Coronation Fleet Review on 20 May 1937. The solemnity of the occasion and technical achievement of the broadcast was forgotten as Lt-Commander Thomas Woodrooffe began his description of the illuminations, slurring "At the present moment the whole fleet's lit up!" He continued his drunken ramble for nearly 4 minutes, before he was faded out.

Woodrooffe's task was to describe the scene as King George VI inspected the Navy, moored at Spithead. However, reporting from his old ship HMS Nelson, Woodrooffe had plenty of time to drink with his former shipmates before his final broadcast at 10.45. Woodrooffe was suspended for a week, though his broadcasting career recovered.

The BBC, keen to avoid similar incidents, developed a continuity system that ensured an announcer in the studio could take control if something went wrong in the field. This system, with the announcer separated from the technical operator, soon became the standard.

When Woodrooffe died in 1978 his obituaries invariably mentioned the Fleet Review alongside his achievements as a broadcaster and naval commander. The continuing appeal of broadcast mistakes is evident in the popularity of moments like the appearance of Lulu the elephant on Blue Peter in 1969. In these days of social media any on-air blunder quickly goes viral, guaranteeing cult status for the hapless presenter.