BBC admits 'live' Trainspotting show used five-month-old footage

BBC spokeswoman claims error made in “the excitement of a live broadcast”

The controversial clip showed a Class 66 convoy. (BBC Footage)

The BBC has admitted it mistakenly labelled five-month-old footage as “live” during its new programme “Trainspotting Live”.

The show signals the rise of “slow TV” and hopes to soothe viewers with live footage of passing trains.

On Monday evening, Peter Snow, who hosts the BBC Four show with Dr Hannah Fry, remarked on the supposed live footage of a diesel locomotive: “We’ve just seen one going past. Now there we are, Class 66.”

Viewers pointed out the show had gone off the rails after they realised the clip had been posted on YouTube five months ago.

​According to the BBC’s description of the show, Monday’s episode was “broadcast live from the Didcot Rail Centre in the middle of the Great Western Railway”.

The controversial clip tracked the passing-by of a Class 66 convoy at Bishton Flyover near Newport, South Wales.

A spokeswoman for the BBC admitted Mr Snow’s comments had been made in “the excitement of a live broadcast.”

In a statement, she asserted: “it was made clear from the beginning of the programme that rail enthusiasts have been collecting and filming material over the last few weeks.”

She maintained the clip's inclusion had not been intended to mislead viewers and highlighted: “It was not captioned as live on screen to views, but in the excitement of a live broadcast, it was mistakenly suggested that it was a live spot.”

The incident attracted widespread criticism after The Sun reported the story on its front page and labelled the mishap as the “Great train fibbery”.

Mediawatch UK chastised the broadcaster by stating: “The BBC shouldn’t try to pull the woolly hats over trainspotters’ eyes.”

Glyn Murray, a rail enthusiast from website National Preservation, told The Sun: “One group you cannot con is trainspotters. They notice all the nuance and are passionate about their hobby.”

Disgruntled viewers of “Trainspotting Live” are not the first to feel misled by the BBC. Last October, it apologised for portraying a doctored volcanic eruption as real in “Patagonia: Earth’s Secret Paradise”