Two live crosses. Two small children. Two biscuits, and one very lovely unicorn.
These are the wonderful figures to have emerged from the UK overnight, after separate TV interviews were interrupted by precocious toddlers.
Speaking to the BBC yesterday about the UK’s localised coronavirus lockdowns, Dr Clare Wenham, an Assistant Professor of Global Health Policy at the London School of Economics, was interrupted by her daughter, Scarlett.
Footage of the incident, re-shared online by the BBC’s own Scott Bryan, shows Scarlett rearranging the artwork in the room where Dr Wenham was conducting her remote interview.
“Scarlett, I think it looks better on the lower shelf,” said BBC News anchor Christian Fraser.
Scarlett asked for Fraser’s name, and calmly explained that she was merely “deciding where it can go, where mummy wants it to go.”
Bless.
ABSOLUTE SCENES ON THE BBC NEWS CHANNEL pic.twitter.com/hvu9iWkkIz
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) July 1, 2020
The situation was very similar on the Sky News channel, where the network’s foreign affairs editor Deborah Haynes saw a remote cross interrupted by her young son.
Haynes was discussing former the former UK Prime Minister David Cameron at the time, but her son had more pressing concerns: could he have two biscuits?
The answer was yes, as it turns out.
While Haynes apologised for the interruption and appeared ready to crack on with the interview, the camera feed cut out.
“Yes ok, well, we will leave Deborah Haynes in full flow there with some family duties,” Sky News host Adam Boulton said.
“But that’s what happening during lockdown and trying to report during lockdown.”
Some viewers have questioned the decision to cut away from Haynes, despite the fact her son’s biscuit business was quite clearly sorted.
She was multi-tasking just fine and had resolved the whole thing. Did he really cut off the interview at the point when the biscuit negotiation had already been concluded?
— Samira Ahmed (@SamiraAhmedUK) July 1, 2020
All of this was likened to that 2017 incident, in which political science professor Robert E. Kelly was interrupted by his two bubs during an interview with the BBC.
For the record, both Dr Wenham and Haynes have commented on the unexpected interruptions.
Interior Design with Scarlett. I can make that happen.
— Clare Wenham (@clarewenham) July 1, 2020
Thank you for the lovely comments after my son’s impromptu appearance mid-live-broadcast. I can confirm that his high-stakes negotiating skills netted him two chocolate digestives https://t.co/OQRGiMNih2
— Deborah Haynes (@haynesdeborah) July 1, 2020
Good gear, imo.
