Vernon discussed a moment in history that involved the BBC moving a huge record library(Image: Getty Images for the NTA’s)Vernon Kay has expressed his regrets on-air to King Charles and Queen Camilla after implicating the Royal household in a blunder. During a recent episode of his BBC Radio 2 programme, Vernon recounted an event from 1963 when the BBC had to shift its massive record library due to space constraints.
He aired a snippet featuring Michael Aspel, who narrated the mammoth task of transferring over half a million LPs, 78s, and wax cylinders from Western House (which could no longer house them) to Egton House in Central London.
Vernon clarified that Western House was later renamed Wogan House and that the collection was stored in its basement. This building eventually became the hub for Radio 2, which now broadcasts from New Broadcasting House at the top of Regent Street.
Intrigued about the whereabouts of the record trove, Vernon queried his colleague and learned it was housed in the basement of their current broadcasting location.
Vernon shared details about a “very special” microphone (Image: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)Excitedly, Vernon suggested: “It’s in the basement here? C’mon, field trip! Let’s pack our butties and go downstairs into the basement and have a look. I bet there’s some very, very, very valuable and important discs.”
The presenter, known for his time on Family Fortunes, also divulged information about a “very special” microphone, revealing that two particular microphones were “predominantly used during the war”.
He remarked: “One was the one that we call Linda’s microphone, which she used to broadcast from Beverley. The other one was asked…the royal household asked to borrow it and never gave it back.
“There you go – just throw them under the bus. So they’ve got one microphone, which was used during the war and the BBC have the other. Amazing, the speeches that were delivered through that microphone.”
However, it transpired that Vernon was mistaken about the royals. On air, a colleague informed him it was in fact the “Government that did the borrowing, not the royal household”.
It turned out that Vernon had made a mistake when he discussed the royals(Image: ITV)Vernon responded: “Well, that’s me going to the Tower. Yeah, I must apologise to the King and Queen for throwing them under the bus. You didn’t nick the microphone, it was the Government. Apologies, Sir, Ma’am.”
The incident came following Vernon’s reassurance to a Radio 2 listener nervous about seeming like a “country bumpkin” at a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, and he recounted his own experiences with royalty.
He expressed admiration for the royals, claiming that they are “very welcoming in the back garden of Buckingham Palace” and assured the listener they would spend a “fabulous day” there, not least because the “cakes are superb”.
Vernon concluded: “And if you get to bump into or shake hands with a member of the Royal Family, they are very, very gracious, very courteous, and right proper down to earth, I’ll be honest with you.”