A respected BBC News anchor became an internet sensation last week when she was caught live on air, apparently flipping the bird to viewers.
Now, a behind-the-scenes video has emerged on X (formerly Twitter), revealing how this came to pass, revealing that Maryam Moshiri was joking with the production crew through the 10-second countdown before she read out the headlines.
The 13-second clip shows Moshiri using her fingers to count down the seconds, before she gets to number two – at this point she shows the camera two fingers with her palm facing her – a gentle but rude gesture widely used in the UK.
For the final second, she gesticulates with just her middle finger, and… you know the rest. The laugh comes when she realises she is now broadcasting to the nation and beyond and smoothly straightens up to announce, “Live from London, this is BBC News.”
Moshiri had previously issued an apology for her gone-wrong joke, saying:
“I was pretending to count down as the director was counting me down from 10-0 including the fingers to show the number. So from 10 fingers held up to one,” she wrote in a post on X before the release of the BTS video, which supported her account.
“When we got to one I turned finger around as a joke and did not realise that this would be caught on camera,” she added. “It was not my intention for this to happen and I’m sorry if I offended or upset anyone.”
Moshiri was back on air three days after the incident, and she took to social media to thank those who have sent her supportive messages.
“Totally love my job and the team at @BBCNews,” she said.
After the longer video was published, Moshiri added: “Hey – just to say the BBC did not release this ( have no idea who did)- but in a way I’m glad at least people can see it was a mistimed joke countdown with my colleagues! Which I’m sorry about. It does show, however, that I wasn’t lying!”