Off cuts - 12 September

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Funny stories, gossip and general off-the-record, wicked whispers from the broadcast industry.

Where's today's News?

The Gremlins were clearly at work during Tuesday night's Ten O'Clock News. BBC1's normally slickly professional flagship bulletin had to be pulled off air during its opening sequence as anchor Huw Edwards' soothing South Walian tones were interrupted by hideous whining. No, it wasn't the TUC congress, or business editor Robert Peston on one of his mono-logues, but what is known in the trade as a "technical hitch", forcing the bulletin to break to music. But like the true professionals they are at BBC News the problem was sorted and normal service was resumed. And what was the caption on the restored bulletin? "Skills shortage".

Cleopatra, Cleopatramimin'-atcha

Revellers at Living's lavish 15th birthday party in Covent Garden were treated to a terrifying taste of forthcoming 1980s popstars-get-plastic-surgery-to-relaunch-their-careers format Pop Goes the Band. Late 1990s R&B act Cleopatra are taking part in the show and mimed merrily to their eponymous hit and, er, another one. Their prospects don't look good after they were blown off stage by the evergreen Bucks Fizz. Living will be hoping the audience reaction to the acts bodes well for people "making their mind up" to watch.

Hot and bothered after curry house stakeout

It's all in a day's work for a voiceover artist, but Timothy Spall added a bit of a personal touch to his narration of Sky One's UK Border Force. Spall was taken aback during recording on the doc, which tracks the work of immigration teams, when he saw footage of a raid on a curry house in Cowes that had employed illegal immigrants. As it turns out, just that week, he'd stormed out of the same establishment after a row over the bill.

BBC is confused online

Good to see the BBC's joined-up 360-degree thinking extends to its HR department. Applicants for the BBC2 controller job are invited to apply at bbc.co.uk/jobs, or, if they do not have access to the internet, to "email a CV and covering letter to simon.young3@bbc.co.uk". Off Cuts is not quite sure how to email without internet access, but maybe that's why we're not in the running for the post.

How to judge a genius

It's good to see Dave Gorman's taking this interactivity thing seriously. With the TV transfer of his Radio 4 format Genius under way, he's put three potential logos to the vote on his blog, http://gormano.blogspot.com. Users rate the logo pictured above highly. Dave's final choice, however, featuring what could either be a dunce's or a wizard's hat, has garnered a resounding "no". As one respondent puts it: "It suggests the show is a Ku Klux Klan-based operation or a show about a clever gay witch." Now, there's a genius idea...

All wrapped up

What do you get the man who has it all? ITV4 controller Dave Fewings found out when he returned from a birthday break in Spain to find every single item on his desk carefully and lovingly wrapped with newspaper, right down to individual business cards and a single, discarded polo mint. And it wasn't just any paper either: Dave has taken his time unwrapping his desk because of the preponderance of strategically placed page three girls.