Love Island narrator Iain Stirling was tasked with announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth while working for CBBC – but he never had to do it.
While talking on the Some Laugh podcast with Marc Jennings, Stephen Buchanan, and Stuart McPherson, Iain gave the lowdown on the BBC’s plan for when the Queen passed away. The protocol was essential if the Queen passed away while at work.
The 36-year-old comedian, who was a familiar face on CBBC from 2009 to 2013 and returned to children’s TV in 2015. Iain confessed he’d run through the Royal drill every year and even kept a black shirt under his desk just in case the moment came.
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He said: “When I was at the BBC, for kids TV, we used to rehearse every year for what would happen if the Queen died, because we were on live TV. So I genuinely had a box under my desk with a black t-shirt in it.”
(Image: BBC)
Stuart couldn’t resist asking more and said: “What would happen? You and the dog singing God Save The Queen? ” Iain replied: “Every time we rehearsed they insisted on having the puppet dog in it, and trying to make that not offensive, which is impossible.”
“So I would go, ‘Unfortunately, Queen Elizabeth has sadly passed away.’ The dog would go: ‘Ohh. No! ‘ And some producer would be like: ‘Cut!”
(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
He added: “And then they tried doing him not talking. So I go: ‘The Queen’s passed away,’ and he would be sobbing… If the Queen had died when we were hosting kids TV, what would’ve genuinely happened was, it would’ve been me and then they made the dog stand in a corner facing the wall.”
(Image: Jonathan Hordle/REX/Shutterstock)
Queen Elizabeth passed away at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, on September 8, 2022. She was the longest serving British monarch and female sovereign having held the crown for 70 years and 214 days.
It had been reported that 2,000 people attended the Queen’s funeral. It was also watched by millions across the globe.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
