Man in viral 2006 BBC interview mixup says he will sue for royalties
A man who became a viral sensation after being interviewed on the BBC in a case of mistaken identity 17 years ago has said he plans to sue the broadcaster for a share of the royalties.
Guy Goma went to the BBC for a job interview in 2006 and ended up on air when he was mistaken for an IT expert, Guy Kewney.
The business presenter Karen Bowerman thought she was talking to Kewney for analysis, leading to her and Goma becoming increasingly confused.
Goma, now 54 and a computer technician, has revealed he was not paid for his infamous appearance on BBC News 24. The clip has been screened repeatedly over the last 17 years and Goma told the podcast series Accidental Celebrities that he believed he should earn a share of the royalties.
When asked if the BBC had contacted him since the mistake, he said: “I contacted them. They didn’t answer me.”
He suggested the BBC had been waiting for him “to take them to court”. When asked if he would go to court, he said: “I am going to go because of the money they made from it. They didn’t give me a single penny.”
The podcast’s hosts, Josh Pieters and Archie Manners, told him the lack of payment seemed “incredibly unfair” given how popular the clip became.
Goma replied: “They have been using it for nearly 20 years with no penny to me. When I see that they are paying people millions here and there, that clip made them richer.”
Goma, who now works for a charity supporting people with learning disabilities, said he was considering writing a book called Wrong Guy.
After the 2006 mixup he was initially thought to have been Kewney’s taxi driver, but it was later revealed that he had turned up at the BBC for an interview about an IT position.
Goma appeared again on the BBC for a follow-up interview in which he apologised to Kewney, the founder of newswireless.net, whom the BBC had thought it was interviewing.