There's a segment on YouTube recorded off-air of the day and they are still able to generate the on-screen clock, it just hasn't made it to that recording for the most part (but then there are no end of TV-am clips on YouTube from various sources that have the clock and some don't)
The precedent of the morning after the Great Storm when TV-am came from Thames suggests it was at least theoretically possible. Politics and corporate pride was probably the bigger barrier, although I guess there may have been a reciprocal disaster recovery arrangement. I don't know whether Thames could used a studio gallery at Teddington as makeshift pres suite if Euston was out of action.
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I gather from a couple of ex Thames staffers who are regular DS posters that Teddington wasn't really geared up to do pres work, even as a back up. They were just production studios, and their lines went via Euston, with nothing directly to the BT Tower. There was an incident in the 80s when Euston was evacuated due to a bomb scare. The IBA just switched Crystal Palace to RBS TVS from Hannington
I'm assuming or presuming that TV-AM must have got permission from the IBA to use Thames' facilities as Thames didn't come on air until 9.25. Likewise Thames must have got permission to allow TV-AM to use their facilities.
This next bit is a theory but it's plausible that the IBA allowed the rules to be bent to prevent any more criticism about TV-AM.
The IBA handled all the line bookings, so presumably they would have had to instruct BT to route Thames rather than Eggcup House to line.
Which beggars the question what kind of backup did BT have bearing in mind that communications would have been severely disrupted across London and the South-East?
In the 1980s the BT Tower was a major hub for national and government telephone and communications, forget about TV specifically , they'd have had plenty of resilience to cope with the sort of catastrophe that occurred that morning,
The IBA handled all the line bookings, so presumably they would have had to instruct BT to route Thames rather than Eggcup House to line.
Which beggars the question what kind of backup did BT have bearing in mind that communications would have been severely disrupted across London and the South-East?
In the 1980s the BT Tower was a major hub for national and government telephone and communications, forget about TV specifically , they'd have had plenty of resilience to cope with the sort of catastrophe that occurred that morning,
Not that we knew where BT Tower was in those days, it's location not being publicly confirmed until 1993.
The BBC were affected that morning as well. Initially, Breakfast time was simply Nicholas Witchell in the BBC1 continuity booth, where Childrens BBC came from, minus all the kids drawings. Lime Grove was out of action until well after 8am. In this instance, had they not been able to get Television Centre up and running, nor Lime Grove, would this have resulted in control being switched to Birmingham?
I gather from a couple of ex Thames staffers who are regular DS posters that Teddington wasn't really geared up to do pres work, even as a back up. They were just production studios, and their lines went via Euston, with nothing directly to the BT Tower.
I hadn't realised that, presumably Teddington's BT Tower connectivity (TFS - Teddington Film Studios) was installed when it was spun off as a separate company?
I should have said that
operationally
Teddington was connected to the wider network via Euston.
Physically
, it makes sense that the lines did go via the BT tower, but not available to be routinely routed from there ? Did the lines between BBC TVC and BH go via the tower physically, I suspect they did ?
Most lines between BH and TVC did go via the Tower, but not all.
The Loco towards the west went via Mayfair exchange, and was part of the backup procedure.
I should have said that
operationally
Teddington was connected to the wider network via Euston.
Physically
, it makes sense that the lines did go via the BT tower, but not available to be routinely routed from there ? Did the lines between BBC TVC and BH go via the tower physically, I suspect they did ?
You mean they went straight through without being available at the tower? That's a good point, they might well have done unless the IBA provided them.
At some point they became avaliable just like any other studio centre
I should have said that
operationally
Teddington was connected to the wider network via Euston.
Physically
, it makes sense that the lines did go via the BT tower, but not available to be routinely routed from there ? Did the lines between BBC TVC and BH go via the tower physically, I suspect they did ?
You mean they went straight through without being available at the tower? That's a good point, they might well have done unless the IBA provided them.
At some point they became avaliable just like any other studio centre
It may depend upon what happened when Teddington changed from being ABC's London site (and therefore perhaps a hard wired link to 'up north'), to becoming Thames's secondary London site. New 625 capable lines would have been installed at that point ?