BBC News broadcaster Simon McCoy has become famed for his wry takes on the headlines, and he found a suitable way of saying goodbye to 2020 live on air on New Year’s Eve.
The newsreader was broadcasting on the BBC News channel on Thursday shortly before midnight when he introduced a highlights reel of the previous 12 months.
Except there wasn’t one.
“Just going to show you a very special programme – we’ve put up the highlights of 2020,” he told viewers. “Let’s just have a look...”
As nothing then played, Simon looked up at the camera and said: “Exactly.”
He added: “It’s farewell to 2020.”
Simon’s unique take on certain news stories have made headlines of their own on a number of occasions over the years.
In October, he made a savage dig at a family who had developed a Covid-friendly device to deliver sweets to Trick Or Treaters over Halloween.
In 2013, he reported on the upcoming birth of Prince George saying: “Plenty more to come from here... none of it news.”
He also provided some first-rate dead-pan narration over footage from the World Dog Surfing Championships in California, which ended with him declaring: “That’s a shame, we have run out of pictures.”
And, of course, let’s not forget the time he appeared live on air holding a pack of paper instead of an iPad.