News · 10 August 2026
Radio Station Accidentally Announces King’s Death, Then Falls Silent for 16 Minutes as Panicked Staffer Flees
Arnaud Bouissou via Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons CC0 License)
Radio Caroline, an Essex broadcaster, breached Ofcom rules by playing pre-recorded messages announcing the King's death. A staff member, doing maintenance, played the files out of curiosity, unaware they would go live, then panicked and left the premises. The station apologised about 30 minutes later and has since removed the files and reprimanded the staff member.
Reported by Independent · How we write briefs