Viewers were left in hysterics today when both Sky and BBC News had one of their interviews crashed by toddlers.
Dr Clare Wenham, from South London, appeared on BBC News today to discuss the coronavirus crisis, when her daughter Scarlett began rearranging a unicorn picture behind her, and even struck up a conversation with the newsreader.
Meanwhile journalist Deborah Haynes, from Kent, was interrupted on Sky News by her son who paid her a visit to discuss how many biscuits he was allowed to eat.
Both channel’s viewers were delighted by the exchanges, with one teasing that Clare’s daughter was the ‘best child interrupts news’ clip they’d ever seen, while Deborah’s son was praised for his keen biscuit negotiation skills.
Journalist Deborah Haynes (pictured) , from Kent, was interrupted by her son during an interview for Sky News
Dr Clare Wenham (pictured), from South London, appeared on BBC News today to discuss the coronavirus crisis
On BBC news earlier today, Dr Wenham appeared to speak about the COVID pandemic with Christian Fraser at her South London home when her daughter Scarlett appeared.
After Dr Wenham apologised, Scarlett remained in the room and began rearranging a shelf behind her, trying to figure out where to put a picture she had painted of a unicorn.
‘Mummy, where do you want this picture, she asked, before repeating, ‘Mummy, where do you want it?’
After attempting to continue the interview, Christian gave in and addressed the little girl saying: ‘Scarlett, I think it looks better on the lower shelf. It’s a lovely unicorn.’
Both channel’s viewers were delighted by the exchanges, with one teasing that Clare’s daughter was the ‘best child interrupts news’ clip
Upon hearing her name mentioned, Scarlett asked her mother: ‘Mummy, what’s his name?’
‘My name is Christian,’ replied the newsreader.
Scarlett went on: ‘Christian, I’m just deciding where it can go and where mummy wants it to go.’
‘I think just on that shelf is great, thank you,’ said Dr Wenham, ‘I’m so sorry’.
The presenter remained in good spirits about the interview, joking that it was ‘the most informative interview I’ve done all day’.
Scarlett began rearranging a shelf behind her, trying to figure out where to put a picture she had painted of a unicorn
After attempting to continue the interview, host Christian Fraser gave in and addressed the little girl and she asked him his name
Viewers were left in hysterics, with one writing: ‘I love kids. They don’t care if mum has an important BBC interview. They must attend to the much more important matter of WHICH SHELF TO PUT THE UNICORN PICTURE.’
Journalist Charlie Haynes agreed: ‘This is without a doubt the best ‘child interrupts BBC news interview’ i’ve ever seen. Zero f**ks given, doing some interior design in the background behind her mum, then comes over to demand the presenter’s name.’
Many praised the way Christian handled the situation, writing: ‘I love that the anchor was able to play it off for her and make everyone comfortable. What a good guy.’
Another agreed: ‘Good on the news reader to act normal and engage with the child….well done BBC!’
Sky New’s Foreign Affairs editor Deborah apologised after her son entered the room in search of biscuits while she was being interviewed by presenter Mark Austin
Next came Sky New’s Foreign Affairs editor Deborah, from her home in Kent, whose son entered the room in search of biscuits while she was being interviewed by presenter Mark Austin.
Deborah was seen stopping mid-sentence as her son opened the door and came in, saying: ‘Hold on that’s my son arriving, really embarrassing.’
‘Can I have two biscuits’, he asks, to which the journalist replied: ‘Yes, you can have two biscuits, really sorry about that.’
Viewers found the incident hilarious, with several teasing that the toddler had chosen the perfect time to ‘gain leverage in the snack negotiations’
Mark, 61, London, then cuts the interview short saying: ‘We’ll leave Deborah Haynes there, in full family swing’.
Viewers found the incident hilarious, with several teasing that the toddler had chosen the perfect time to ‘gain leverage in the snack negotiations’.
‘Send the kid to Brussels to lead the Biscuit negotiations. Let’s get biscuits done’, wrote one.
Mark, 61, London, then cuts the interview short saying: ‘We’ll leave Deborah Haynes there, in full family swing’
Another added: ‘He knew what he was doing – gaining leverage in the snack negotiations. If mum hadn’t been on the telly, he’d have ended up with a piece of fruit. Two biscuits – great result. ‘
Despite several users finding the 20-second incident amusing, several commented on the conduct of Austin writing that it was a ‘shame’ the interview ended so abruptly.
Charlie Haynes once again tweeted: ‘What a shame sky ended the interview so quickly’.
Another agreed: ‘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?’
‘My thoughts exactly, said another, ‘And, so been there while working from home too… savvy kids know when to leverage snacks. ‘
Despite several users finding the 20-second incident amusing, several commented on the conduct of Austin writing that it was a ‘shame’ the interview ended so abruptly
Deborah later tweeted thanking the public for their ‘lovely’ reaction to the interview, teasing that her son managed to land himself a couple of chocolate digestives
Deborah later tweeted thanking the public for their ‘lovely’ reaction to the interview, teasing that her son managed to land himself a couple of chocolate digestives.
She penned: ‘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.’
While lockdown may exacerbated the volume of children dropping in on their parent’s interview, it was a peril of those working from home long before the pandemic.
In 2017, Robert Kelly, an associate professor of Political Science at Pusan National University in Busan won the hearts of the nation when his two children interrupted in on air.
Hilarious footage showed expert Robert, 46, handling serious questions on the country’s president, Park Geun-hye, being ousted from power.
But suddenly, a toddler bursts into the room in a bright yellow top and performs a comical dance behind the Cleveland, Ohio, native.
Kelly focuses entirely on the camera as he attempts to blindly hand off his daughter, who is clearly curious as to who he is talking to.
And his parental problems soon double as a baby also excitedly makes his way into the room under his own power in a walker.
To complete the farce, his wife Jung-a Kim then comes skidding through the threshold.
She grabs the two youngsters and attempts to drag them out of the door, but one of them can be heard wailing and the baby’s walker suddenly won’t fit back through the door.
Eventually, she manages to get them both out, and the interview continues.
When the interview finishes, broadcaster James Mernendez says: ‘There’s a first time for everything. I think you’ve got some children who need you!’