“I do get quite nervous when I’m broadcasting sometimes. I can’t work out why. But this time, I was very calm and not nervous at all, I think because I was really focused on getting it right. Also I had [royal correspondent] Nicholas Witchell with me in the studio, and he’s the best in the business.

“It was 30 seconds of air time. And we all knew the announcement had to be right. With the right tone, the right demeanour, everything. You desperately want to get it right and not let anyone down.”

Fiona Bruce recalled her first day in the BBC in 1989, explaining how nervous she was: “I started as a researcher on Panorama in Shepherd’s Bush. There was a courtyard with drainpipes with these excrescences, some kind of foam, extruding from the building. Absolutely revolting! I’d come from advertising, which was pretty shiny, and was astonished. But on my first day I thought, ‘I’ve had two career false starts [management consultancy and advertising], but this is it. This is what I want to do.’”

As for Claudia Winkleman, her memories of the BBC start very young: “I was brought up on the BBC. And I couldn’t have got through the pandemic without BBC Bitesize. So, on behalf of my children, thank you BBC, because I tried to explain Darwin and the theory of evolution and didn’t do it very well.”

And Zoe Ball speaks about her early start on BBC Radio 2, saying: “I don’t know if you ever get used to [my 4am alarm]! We’re trying different alarm sounds. This morning I tried bird song, but I’m not sure that’s going to work. It just lulls you back to sleep.”

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