ShortcutsTelevision & radioCommunity worker in trademark beige sweater gatecrashes TV reports

He has featured in countless news reports, appeared in parliamentary round-ups, and even been on the Antiques Roadshow. But Paul Yarrow is no media personality – he's a podgy, balding community worker from south London who has become notorious for appearing uninvited in the background of TV programmes over the past year.

Yarrow has been spotted – usually wearing the same beige sweater – at Gaza protests, trade union rallies and a ceremony commemorating the 7/7 bombings. He has made it on to the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky – and this week he made his al-Jazeera debut. Sometimes he can be seen reading a newspaper. Sometimes he's on the phone. But often he just wanders aimlessly in the background.

The Twitterati are fascinated by Yarrow's exploits – spotting the man now known as the "news raider" has become the 21st-century equivalent of Where's Wally? Comedian Russell Howard featured Yarrow on his BBC show, while a blog now chronicles Yarrow's appearances on television (16, and rising).

For broadcast journalists, however, Yarrow's activities are all too familiar. Martin Bell says he "hated going live for this reason. I remember covering the Super Bowl where there were a lot of fans making a lot of noise, and it was a huge distraction." Bell concludes that "you should never film anywhere near children, animals and drunks."

Emma Baker, a senior reporter at a regional broadcaster, has never seen anyone as determined as Yarrow but says, "You do get people messing around in the background all the time, honking their horns or putting their thumbs up. They always think it's hilariously original."

Interlopers have even been known to get physical, says Baker. A colleague was once reporting from a beach, "and someone ran into shot and jumped on him, so he ended up giving him a piggy-back from the front."

Presenters are often the last to know – Newsnight political editor Michael Crick spent most of a recent report unaware that a man was goosestepping behind his back – so Baker says it's considered the job of the cameraman to "spot" potential pranksters. "But sometimes you're just forced to re-take shot after shot, or even move locations entirely." Other tactics include "pretending you're not actually filming", or cropping intruders out of the footage back in the studio. "It can be a nightmare," says Baker, "particularly if you're on deadline."

But she is more amused than irritated by Yarrow's exploits: "If he's not messing up their broadcasts, good on him. Bless him."

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