Did you hear? There was some sort of wedding today.
British expats, Anglophiles, ad agency types and reporters crammed into the BBC’s New York City offices bright and early this morning to watch the Royal Wedding.
Starting at 6 AM, the offices were transformed into a giant party, with televisions at every corner tuned into BBC One’s coverage of the Royal nuptials. Your TVNewser editor spotted actor Stephen Baldwin sitting at a diner booth in the office kitchen chatting with a group of young women, while nearby guests poured cups of tea and coffee.
The co-hosts for the event were Sir Allan Collins, Her Majesty’s Consul General in New York, and Herb Scannell, the president of BBC Worldwide America.
Scannell and Collins spoke briefly after the couple appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for their first kiss. Playing up the event nature of the wedding, Scannell managed to bring the discussion back to BBC America, which saw its best ratings ever last week for the season premier of “Doctor Who.”
Around 9:30, guests began to slip out of the midtown office, while BBC employees slipped in, and went to work at their desks, ignoring the crowd. Parting gifts were delivered in the form of wedding cake, specifically fruit cake, the same kind the now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will have enjoyed at their reception.