A sailor’s innocent blunder led to unexpected interruptions on the Shetland Coastguard’s emergency distress channel as BBC Radio 4 programming played continuously for 12 hours. The mishap, which occurred near the Shetland Islands, saw episodes of popular shows like The Archers, Woman’s Hour, and Just a Minute inadvertently broadcast over the critical emergency frequency.
The incident prompted the Shetland Coastguard to reach out to the broadcaster for assistance after discovering that the distress channel, VHF channel 16, was intermittently blocked on February 5 due to the ongoing Radio 4 transmission. An email was sent out, requesting all vessels in the area to inspect their radio sets and ensure that no microphones were inadvertently activated.
