Viral footage shows a BBC News presenter – who appears unaware she is live on air – giving her middle finger as she opens a message.
Maryam Moshiri is seen raising her eyebrows and turning off the camera as she comes on screen after the show’s famous musical countdown ends.
Moshiri, one of the channel’s chief presenters, seems to quickly realize she’s live and snatches her hand away before she starts reading out the headlines about Boris Johnson.
“Live from London, this is BBC News,” she says, quickly adopting a more serious demeanor.
However, she noted that her hand gesture was broadcast when she teased the end of the headline and referenced the “Coronaverse” pandemic.
The gaffe occurred on BBC News’ global feed at 12pm UK time on Wednesday. The UK channel aired Prime Minister’s Questions so the global audience got the headlines from London.
Viewers reacted online, with some saying the application showed a lack of professionalism, while others joked that they felt the same about her work.
It’s not the first example of presenters swearing at BBC News, with the corporation having to apologize after weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker made the same rude gesture.
Maryam Moshiri was announced back in February as part of a new line-up of top presenters on the BBC news channel
The lead anchor quickly seems to realize she’s live, snatching her hand away and assuming a more appropriate stance as she begins reading out the headlines
It was 7 a.m. when Twitter/X user NeilFleisc79365 captured the moment and posted it online with the caption “Wow.”
In 2010, Schafernaker was making the weather forecast when news presenter Simon McCoy made a light-hearted comment.
“Now we have the weather forecast in a minute and of course it will be 100 percent accurate and provide all the detail you could want,” McCoy said. “I just saw Tom Schafernaker preparing for this.”
Believing he was off camera, Schafernaker was seen raising his middle finger in a gesture toward McCoy.
Immediately realizing his mistake, Schafernaker moved his hand to his face to hide it and pretended to scratch his chin.
The clip was viewed millions of times online and cemented his place as one of the world’s most popular weathermen.
In September, Moshiri made headlines with her hilarious impromptu depiction of a rare blue supermoon when no image of the lunar event appeared on screen.
“I’m so sorry, I don’t have a picture to show you,” Moshiri told viewers in a panic.
In 2010, Schafernaker was about to present the weather forecast when he gave news anchor Simon McCoy his middle finger
In September, Moshiri made headlines with her hilarious impromptu depiction of a rare blue supermoon when no image of the lunar event appeared on screen
The presenter improvised and held her hands up in a circle – which was supposed to symbolize the full moon.
Moshiri was announced back in February as part of a new line-up of top presenters at the BBC news channel.
In July, it was announced that she would be taking over the show The Daily Global, which she continues to host alongside.
The BBC has been contacted for comment.