[Stooky Bill]

 
God, that's a blast from the past, I remember all the hype and speculation about it at the time, especially on the blue place.

The video of Ideal World's last transmission is interesting because the presenters tell us to stay tuned for the next hour, which suggests that they had no idea that they were about to go off air, must have been very sudden for most employees.

Sudden yes but I don't think it will have been much of a surprise for the staff, the company had been having issues and was up for sale. 

The presenters might not have known for certain before the end of that hour (if it was live) but might well have had an inkling it was coming. The gallery would almost certainly have known at some point before that junction - they'd have had to have got the caption ready, and they're presumably on open talk back to the presenters. 

Probably just a case of the show must go on and business as usual.

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Sad news, I know quite a few people in the industry who made their start there. Was one of the few opportunities left in the Midlands, really.

Is Peterborough the Midlands? Always think of it as more eastern England

Not a good few weeks for the industry - BT Sport in Stratford closed this week, Al Jazeera in London stops bulletins at the weekend and a lot made redundant there too. These added to a general downturn in production and commissioning