Viewers on some devices and channels were left watching anchor silently reading notes as he waited for cue to start

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Huw Edwards was left sitting in silence for four minutes at the start of BBC News at Ten on Tuesday night after a technical fault delayed the start of the programme and bemused viewers.

Viewers on some devices and channels were left watching the presenter sitting in silence as he waited for his cue to start.

Huw Edwards mesmerises the nation during BBC's silent News at Ten Read more

The BBC News Channel showed Edwards sitting mute for the entirety of the delay, while BBC1 put up a message apologising for the fault and played saxophone music. On BBC iPlayer an announcer apologised for the glitch and breaking news alerts also appeared during the delay.

When the programme started at 22:04, Edwards apologised for what he described as a “few technical problems”.

The presenter said on Wednesday that nobody had told him he was on air until two minutes into the delay. However, Edwards told Radio 4’s The Media Show that he “sensed I might be on” so took “the most conservative approach possible” and sat at his desk reading his notes before the bulletin started.

Edwards said he had realised there was a problem 40 seconds before News at 10 was about to start and that he heard “pandemonium” in the background.

“It has never happened before. No matter how experienced you are, and I have been presenting for 25 years, its a very unusual set of circumstances,” he added.

The delay caused a mixture of amusement and consternation among social media users. One Twitter user said the sight of Edwards looking worried before the start of BBC News was “how I imagine the world would end”.

Paul Royall, the editor at BBC News for the 6pm and 10pm bulletins, said there had been a “technical system crash” seconds before the start of the programme. This led to the director having to switch to a backup system.

Royall said Edwards had done a great job of handling the delay. After the programme Edwards tweeted a toast in Welsh along with a picture of a can of beer.

Huw Edwards (@huwbbc) I think I'm going to enjoy this little beauty after that Ten. Iechyd da! #bbcnewsten @BBCNews pic.twitter.com/FuU8zN6r5M

The presenter also retweeted a message from a fan account called “Huws at Ten” that said waiting for the delayed programme to start was “still better than ITV”.

Good Morning Britain, ITV’s flagship breakfast programme, also suffered technical issues on Wednesday morning, which were blamed on the hot weather in Britain.

Its hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid had to apologise after transmission of the programme stopped briefly at about 7am and was replaced with a black screen and technical clock. Good Morning Britain cut out again later in the broadcast and the programme suffered other glitches, such as an advert break stopping abruptly to show co-host Kate Garraway in the middle of a link about the Queen’s speech.

During the show, Reid said: “Apparently you’re seeing things on your television that we are not intending to go out on air.

“This is because apparently the technical equipment at Chiswick in London at our transmission centre is overheating.”