[Brekkie]

Didn't realise Roger Tilling did all the buzzer calls live in the studio.

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[Ash101]

Didn't realise Roger Tilling did all the buzzer calls live in the studio.

www.bbc.co.uk 

Yes me too, I was shocked to learn this earlier in the year! Greg James mentioned it on his Radio 1 show after 'Birkbeck MacMillan'

Does beg the question, why? What's wrong with a buzzer system that's linked up to a name-call like you see on The Chase (for example).

[Johnr]

It's because he adjusts the pacing based on how long is left in the match, when it first starts Cambridge...Bloggs but towards the end OXFORDSMITH!

[Jon]

It's because he adjusts the pacing based on how long is left in the match, when it first starts Cambridge...Bloggs but towards the end OXFORDSMITH!

Well he could just record faster versions though, I guess it comes down to tradition than a need to do it that way. In a way, it shows there are probably lots of savings that could be made across programmes, as presumably it would be cheaper to get Tilling to record the names at home and get a cheaper production team member to press a button. Maybe it wouldn’t work out cheaper. But I imagine there is a lot of little savings like this that could be implemented across all programmes to make TV slightly less expensive to produce.

[thegeek]

I believe he's also the warm-up person, both for the audience and the teams - he sits in the presenter's chair and asks a few rounds of questions.

Also, pre-recorded calls just don't sound right. I'm glad that Alan Dedicoat gets Saturday evenings off at last, but his announcements on Strictly are pretty obviously off a Spot-on.

[Brekkie]

Well he could just record faster versions though, I guess it comes down to tradition than a need to do it that way. In a way, it shows there are probably lots of savings that could be made across programmes, as presumably it would be cheaper to get Tilling to record the names at home and get a cheaper production team member to press a button. Maybe it wouldn’t work out cheaper. But I imagine there is a lot of little savings like this that could be implemented across all programmes to make TV slightly less expensive to produce.

Presumably they film three or four a day so it's probably just as easy to do them live as it is pre-record then have to pre-record alternates as well. Yes, doing them in advance might end up being a days work rather than sitting through recording an entire series but that wouldn't necessarily mean he gets paid for one day rather than ten as it's more likely he's paid for his voice rather than his time. And you'd still probably have to pay a technician to make sure it all works correctly for every recording session so the savings would likely end up largely cancelling themselves out.