If you were tuned into the BBC News channel on Tuesday night, you might have spotted something rather distracting going on in the background.
During the live broadcast, the news that Tata Motors is reportedly planning to build an electric car battery factory in Somerset was discussed, with reference to the move being “the most significant investment in the UK auto industry since Nissan came to Britain in the 1980s”.
So far, so prestigious, right? Well not quite. You see, as BBC News’ international business correspondent Theo Leggett shared his take on the news, many viewers couldn’t help noticing a commotion on one of the monitors behind him.
As the interview continued, a number of people were seen coming into the frame, striking poses, waving and, at one point, even doing a little comedy run while being broadcast to the nation – as journalist Scott Bryan shared in a video clip of the moment (including close-ups of the background shenanigans).
And he wasn’t the only who got a kick out of the ridiculous scene as it played out.
The scene played out after another viral BBC News moment this week, which saw anchor Ben Thompson struggling to keep his cool during one segment.
Ben was seen literally hiding behind his papers while introducing a segment about snakes, admitting: “I’m not quite sure how I can tell you this next story because I hate snakes… So I’m going to do it like this.”
And last week, viewers spotted another decidedly unserious scene in the background of a news report, when a tourist was seen striking a James Bond-like pose outside Scotland Yard, presumably not realising he was going out live on BBC News.