The cause was a technical problem that meant the actual live signal of the call couldn’t reach the studio but the caller was given the impression their vote had still been voted. The competition involved was raising money for the charity of Unicef.

 Earlier that day a member of staff got a child, who was visiting the show, to pose as a caller and answer a question on live air, as if to act out the problem to the unknowing public. The child went home with a selection of children’s toys. Richard Deverell, the children’s BBC programme controller called the incident a “serious error of judgement”. The company didn’t earn any money from the calls to the studio.

The people who did call in and place a vote were charged 10p per call and 3.25p going to the charity, Unicef.

“I would like to apologise unequivocally to viewers,” says Mr. Deverell.

The phone line editor and regulator are dealing with the problem and hopefully the phone lines will be back and working with the public able to vote.