BBC presenter APOLOGISES after she was caught giving the middle finger to the camera live on air in ‘private joke with the team’
A BBC news presenter has apologized after being caught giving the middle finger to the camera during a 'private joke' while opening a top-of-the-hour news bulletin.
Viral footage shows Maryam Moshiri raising her eyebrows and switching off the camera as she appears on screen after the programme's famous musical countdown ends.
Ms Moshiri, 46, one of the network's main presenters, seems to quickly realize she is live and jerks her hand away before she starts reading out headlines about Boris Johnson.
“Live from London, this is BBC News,” she says, quickly adopting a more serious demeanor.
This morning she apologized on social media, saying she “didn't realize” the moment would be caught on camera and that she is “sorry if I offended or upset anyone.”
The main presenter seems to quickly realize she's live and yanks her hand away, moving into a more appropriate position as she begins reading out the headlines.
Ms. Moshiri said, “Hey everyone, yesterday, just before the hour mark, I was joking around with the team at the gallery.
'I pretended to count down while the director told me to count down from 10-0…including the fingers to show the number.
'So from ten fingers held up to one. When we got to 1 I jokingly turned my finger and didn't realize this would be caught on camera.
“It was a private joke with the team and I'm so sorry it went on air! I did not mean for this to happen and I am sorry if I offended or upset anyone.
“I didn't really mean to throw the bird at the viewers or even at a person. It was a lame joke aimed at a small number of my friends.'
But in a sign that perhaps she realized her hand gesture was being broadcast, she fluffed the end of the headline, referring to the “coronaverse” pandemic.
The faux pas happened on Wednesday at 12pm UK time on the BBC News world feed. The channel in Britain broadcast the Prime Minister's questions so that the global audience could follow the headlines from London.
Viewers responded online, with some suggesting the motion showed a lack of professionalism, while others joked that they felt the same way about their work.
Maryam Moshiri was announced in February as part of a new line-up of top presenters from BBC News channels
It was 7am where Twitter/X user NeilFleisc79365 was when he captured the moment and posted it online with the caption: 'Wow'
Ms Moshiri was a long-time business news presenter for the BBC and interviewed some of the world's most prominent CEOs, including Jeff Bezos.
It is not the first example of presenters swearing on BBC News, with the corporation forced to apologize after weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker made the same rude gesture.
In 2010, Mr Schafernaker was about to give the weather forecast when news presenter Simon McCoy made a light-hearted comment.
“Now we have the weather forecast within a minute and it will of course be 100 percent accurate and provide all the detail you could want,” McCoy said. “I just watched Tom Schafernaker prepare for it.”
Believing he was off camera, Mr. Schafernaker was seen raising his middle finger at McCoy in a gesture.
Mr. Schafernaker immediately realized his mistake and raised his hand to his face to hide it, seemingly pretending to scratch his chin.
The clip has been viewed millions of times online and has cemented his place as one of the Beeb's most popular weather forecasters.
In September, Ms. Moshiri made headlines with her hilarious, improvised depiction of a rare blue supermoon, when no photo of the lunar event appeared on screen.
“I'm so sorry, I don't have a picture to show you,” a panicked Ms. Moshiri told viewers.
In 2010, Schafernaker was about to present the weather forecast when he gave the middle finger to newsreader Simon McCoy
In September, Moshiri made headlines with her hilarious, improvised image of a rare blue supermoon when a photo of the lunar event failed to appear on screen
The presenter improvised and held up her hands to make a circular shape – meant to indicate a full moon.
Ms Moshiri was announced in February as part of a new line-up of top presenters from BBC News channels.
In July, it was announced that she would be taking over the program The Daily Global, which she continues to host in addition to anchoring.
The BBC has been contacted for comment.