2006 BBC interview
24-hour news cycle
A01=Elliott Gotkine
Accidental celebrity
Apple Computer court case
Author_Elliott Gotkine
BBC interview mix-up
BBC News blunder
Category=DNBA
Category=DNBF1
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
Guy Goma
Guy Kewney
Live broadcast chaos
Live TV mistake
Media mistakes
Television history
The Wrong Guy
Viral TV moment
Wrong guest interview
Product details
- ISBN 9781806951161
- Dimensions: 140 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 28 Apr 2026
- Publisher: Collective Ink
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
On May 8, 2006, Congolese finance graduate Guy Goma turns up for a job interview at the BBC, when his world explodes. Mistaken for a news guest whose name was also Guy (and who was waiting in a different reception area), he s ushered into a studio and interviewed live on TV. As he s introduced as Guy Kewney , terror washes over his face like a tidal wave, before giving way to a Munch-esque silent scream. He s peppered with questions about the Apple Computer court case. In Francophone-flecked English, he bluffs his way through the interview with answers so hilariously nonsensical that he wins over viewers and then the world. The Wrong Guy , as the British press dubs him, becomes a legend.
What really happened that day? Who was responsible, and how did it impact Guy's life? Twenty years on, Elliott Gotkine, together with Guy Goma, reveals for the first time the remarkable, stranger-than-fiction story of The Wrong Guy, why his 15 minutes of fame endured, the chaos of 24-hour news, and how celebrity and destiny isn t always what it s cracked up to be.
Elliott Gotkine is an Emmy-winning journalist. In a 25-year career spanning three continents, he s worked as a correspondent for CNN, Bloomberg Television and the BBC (he left the Beeb after accidentally putting Guy Goma on air). Along the way, he s interviewed multiple world leaders, titans of industry. And Guy. He now freelances for CNN, most recently out of the network s bureau in London, where he lives with his two children and his one-eyed dog, Molly.
