A weatherman inadvertently created a piece of radio history, after being forced to interrupt BBC Radio 4’s shipping broadcast for the first time in its 91 year history.
Tomasz Schafernaker was delivering his report at 5.20am on December 4, before having to swiftly excuse himself. The audio recording suggests that Schafernaker may have vomited during the broadcast, as he can be heard heaving before his colleague steps in and takes over. The BBC’s staff party reportedly took place on December 3, with many therefore suggesting that Schafernaker may have been hungover during the time of the broadcast. Scahfernaker responded to listeners’ concern on Twitter, writing: “All good with me! Thanks for the tweets!”
The shipping broadcast has been a British institution for nearly a century, and according to historian Nic Compton (via The Sun) a report has never been abandoned since its inception. He said: “The main anomaly with the Shipping Forecast is they sometimes read out the wrong one. I have never heard of the reader abandoning it half way through.”
Watch Schafernaker’s blunder below:
This isn’t the only time that the weatherman has found himself courting controversy. Back in 2011 he went viral after he was filmed showing the middle finger to his BBC colleagues, before attempting to cover up his gesture in hilarious fashion:
Then in 2014 he forgot where his colleague was reporting from, leading to him uncontrollably laughing his way through his weather report:
It seems like vomiting mid-broadcast was just another day in the office for Schafernaker.
