BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri issues apology following middle-finger gaffe

A BBC News presenter has apologised for a "joke" in which viewers saw her quickly raise her middle finger to camera before beginning a midday bulletin.

Maryam Moshiri made the huge gaffe ahead of a bulletin on Wednesday afternoon (December 6). Viewers were shocked as they saw the presenter flash up the rude gesture, raise her eyebrows and smile before adopting a contrasting serious face to begin the news segment.

She immediately launched into the line: "Live from London, this is BBC News." The presenter then moved into talking about the midday headlines, including Boris Johnson giving evidence at the Covid Inquiry.

A clip of the moment went viral on social media, with the short clip views millions of times. The BBC have not commented on the incident as of yet.

In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the presenter apologised for the incident, stating that it was a "silly joke that was meant for a small number of my mates". Moshiri said: "Hey everyone , yesterday just before the top of the hour I was joking around a bit with the team in the gallery. 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 continued: "When we got to 1 I turned finger around as a joke and did not realise that this would be caught on camera. It was a private joke with the team and I’m so sorry it went out on air! It was not my intention for this to happen and I’m sorry if I offended or upset anyone. I wasn’t ‘flipping the bird’ at viewers or even a person really."

Moshiri was spotted by viewers last year in a moment where she attempted to illustrate a blue supermoon using her hands shaped in a circle. During the bulletin, the presenter, who has been at the organisation for 16 years, told amused viewers: "I'm so sorry, I don't have a picture to show you."