James Burke was arguably the BBC's best science correspondent in the 1970s and '80s. He worked on Tomorrow's World before fronting his own programmes, including Connections. On The Last leg last night, I was reminded of perhaps his finest moment, demonstrating brilliant timing in his only chance of getting the take right. He had one chance to get it right and he absolutely nailed it. Burke will be 90 in December. It would be great if the BBC finally celebrated his career in the same way that they have paid tribute to other, equally brilliant, broadcasters.

The Greatest Shot In Television

I'd forgotten he was still alive. He certainly had a good way of explaining complicated things to people with little knowledge of them. I'm assuming there was a launch countdown clock in front of him for that shot but it's still well timed.

I'm sure it was rehearsed many times to get the timing right. However, he only had one chance of getting it right in the actual shoot, and he nailed it. If he'd fluffed his lines, there would have been no second chance.