Of course, he's not the incumbent anymore. With its presenters forced to drag themselves from bed at 4am, Morning Ireland has produced many unintended cracks at dawn, often born from the merest lapse of concentration.ĭavid Hanly: "That gives a swing of over 20pc against the incumbent. Not to be outdone, Ireland's 'serious' newscasters have weighed in with many moments that have had the public spluttering heartily into their cornflakes. Striving for words to describe the Albanian village of Kulkes, which was engulfed by 80,000 desperate refugees, RTE's man decided it was: "Like Puck Fair in Killorglin." Ten years ago RTE broke this rule and a top sports personality was somehow allowed to send back radio reports from war-torn Kosovo. When it comes to generating laughter, Ireland's sports specialists have shown themselves the equal of any in the world, with veteran Jimmy Magee credited with a handful of true gems.ĭuring one match, he noted approvingly: "Liam Brady's been playing inside Platini's shorts all night." However, Magee surpassed himself at one Olympic opening ceremony with his line: "The bird of peace - the pigeon!"īecause many sports commentators share a dangerous gift for unpremeditated laughter, editors are usually reluctant to cut them loose on 'serious' news stories. Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan's exclusive take on the day's news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.Įnter email address This field is required Sign Up When Johnston died in 1994 his TV obituary ended with his exhausted sigh that closed the leg-over episode: "I've stopped laughing now." Johnston is also credited with uttering the immortal line: "The batsman's Holding, the bowler's Willey."įor the ability to summon up effortless hilarity, however, the greatest sporting rivalry of all time was arguably played out between the all-rounder David Coleman and the godfather of Grand Prix, Murray Walker.Ĭoleman's countless classic quotes include: "That's the fastest time ever run, but it's not as fast as the world record." He also gave us: "The Republic of China - back in the Olympic Games for the first time." When commentator Jonathan Agnew remarked that Botham "couldn't get his leg over", both he and sidekick Brian Johnston collapsed in shrieks. During a test match against the West Indies in 1991, England's Ian Botham stumbled into his own wicket while trying to vault it, earning a spectacular, self-inflicted dismissal. The spontaneity of live sports commentary makes it a happy hunting ground for connoisseurs of corpsing, with one BBC breakdown so famous that it was incorporated into an obituary. He began the cautionary tale solemnly enough, announcing: "Safety campaigners have repeated their warnings about the dangers of fireworks after a prankster tried to launch a rocket from his backside." However, as he delivered the grim news that "the 22-year-old suffered serious internal injuries" Marsh and all around him could contain their tittering no more. Green's BBC colleague John Marsh corpsed most inappropriately while reporting on a harrowing incident on Guy Fawke's night 2006. Some years back she dissolved into laughter introducing an item about a Papua New Guinean chief whose name was spelled Jack Tuat, but which she correctly pronounced Jack Twat. ![]() There are several theories as to where the phrase comes from, but perhaps the most plausible is that when actors were playing dead on the stage, mischievous colleagues would try to egg them into laughter or movement.ĭespite her reputation as a standard-bearer for stiff-upper-lip at the Beeb, Charlotte Green has corpsed before. The overwhelming response of callers was to demand an instant replay of her mirth control ill.Īn attack of uncontrollable laughter is known in the trade as 'corpsing'. The BBC rushed out an apology when one listener somewhat hysterically accused Green of making fun of the Jewish Holocaust. Unfortunately, the giggles erupted as she started to read an obituary of the screenwriter Abby Mann, author of the Oscar-winning 1961 movie Judgement At Nuremburg. Hardly vintage Woody Allen, but it was all it took to send her into a fit of giggles. ![]() ![]() The song's news value lay in the fact that, at 148-years-old, it is claimed to be the earliest recording of the human voice ever made.Īs the recording played, a colleague remarked into Green's earpiece that it sounded like "a bee buzzing in a bottle". ![]() So famously cool, calm and collected is the programme's veteran news anchor, Charlotte Green, that her measured delivery has been likened to "the glacial register of a theology don".īut during last Friday's show, Green's legendary composure went into meltdown after she introduced a scratchy recording of Au Clair De La Lune. Across the world of broadcasting, BBC Radio 4's current affairs flagship, Today, is a byword for gravitas.
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