{"id":3515,"date":"2026-01-26T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T08:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sexstationtv.com\/blog\/?p=3515"},"modified":"2026-01-08T09:26:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T09:26:53","slug":"when-westport-met-babestation-the-misdial-that-launched-a-thousand-headlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sexstationtv.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/26\/when-westport-met-babestation-the-misdial-that-launched-a-thousand-headlines\/","title":{"rendered":"When Westport Met Babestation: the misdial that launched a thousand headlines\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are PR mishaps, and then there\u2019s the time half the country thought Westport was moonlighting as Babestation HQ<\/span><\/a>. Picture it: a postcard-pretty town, warm lights in pub windows, Croagh Patrick looming noble in the background\u2026 and landlines pinging after midnight because randy viewers forgot to dial +44<\/b>. The UK chatline numbers started 098\u2026<\/b>; Westport\u2019s area code is 098<\/b>; Ireland collectively facepalmed. Cue sleep-deprived locals, ministers calling regulators, and a media circus.<\/p>\n

The mix-up\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Irish callers aiming for Babestation\u2019s premium numbers skipped the international code, and instead hit Westport households. The story broke nationally in late January 2017: TD Michael Ring<\/b> said constituents were being deluged with late-night calls from people expecting an X-rated chat, not Mary from Shop Street. RTE<\/span><\/a> explained the mechanics; The Guardian<\/span><\/a> and Independent amplified the sheer farce of it all. Westport stirred. Ireland giggled. Babestation blinked\u2026 then moved.<\/p>\n

Fix it first, then front up<\/b><\/p>\n

The quickest win was technical: change the number and kill the confusion<\/b>. Babestation announced it would ditch the 0982 UK prefix<\/b> and switch ranges so Irish domestic numbers wouldn\u2019t collide again. RT\u00c9 reported the change on 26 January, noting the company\u2019s explanation that new UK ranges introduced in 2015<\/b> had – unbeknownst to them – overlapped visually with Irish domestic codes. That solved the practical problem. But the story had become bigger than a prefix. Time for\u2026 model diplomacy.\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Babestation
Vicky, Alexa and Priya<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Model diplomacy: three babes and a brolly<\/b><\/p>\n

On 26\u201327 January 2017<\/b>, three Babestation favourites – Vicky Narni<\/b><\/span><\/a>, <\/b>Priya Young<\/b><\/span><\/a>, and <\/b>Alexa Brooke<\/b><\/span><\/a> – landed in blustery Westport wearing big smiles and even bigger umbrellas. The brief: meet locals, apologise, explain the fix, and (ideally) send everyone home laughing. They hit the streets, stopped for photos, popped into local radio, and did the \u201csorry about your phone, love\u201d tour with charm to spare. Even the Examiner\u2019s photo captions had a wink to them; The Irish Post captured the mood: windswept, friendly, surreal.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe\u2019re sorry for any offence,\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

one of the models told a local outlet – then pointed out the number change should \u201cnegate the issue in its entirety.\u201d<\/b> It was contrition with a clear fix attached, which is exactly how you land a wobble.<\/p>\n

Media theatre, Mayo style<\/b><\/p>\n

The Irish Examiner<\/span><\/a> ran a mini-rolling update (\u201cHold the phone\u201d), tracking the number switch and the visit; RT\u00c9 posted news and TV segments; national papers sent photographers for the money shot by the \u201cWelcome to Westport\u201d<\/b> sign. For 48 glorious hours, Westport was trending for the most Irish reason imaginable: neighbourly mortification wrapped in good humour and a gale-force wind. Local politics had its moments (an invite extended to Minister Ring; a polite decline), but mostly it was smiles, selfies, and a collective \u201cah, would you look.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vicky,<\/p>\n

What actually changed (and why it mattered)<\/b><\/p>\n

Behind the cheeky headlines was a proper hygiene fix:<\/p>\n