Awkward moment BBC presenter swears on air as outtake aired by mistake

Awkward moment BBC presenter swears on air as news programme accidentally broadcasts her outtakes

  • TV controllers broadcast an outtake of Charlotte Gallagher saying ‘f***’
  • Gallagher was reporting on the Northern Ireland police data breach
  • Social media users react to bumbling BBC bosses broadcasting the wrong clip 

BBC News has accidentally aired video of a presenter swearing as she recorded a report on the Northern Ireland data breach.

Correspondent Charlotte Gallagher made the X-rated comment in what appears to have been a pre-recorded clip that was broadcast by mistake by TV controllers.

Gallagher was delivering the latest on the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s mass data breach, which has seen 10,000 officers’ details published by mistake.

And as she tripped over her words while recording the clip, the frustrated presenter said: ‘I can’t get my words out…f***.’

Social media users reacted with a mixture of horror and humour, with one branding it ‘every live broadcaster’s worst nightmare’. 

BBC correspondent Charlotte Gallagher was delivering a report on the Police Service of Northern Ireland data breach in what appears to have been a pre-recorded segment

It soon became clear the clip was an outtake that was not meant to be broadcast as Gallagher muddled her words, grew frustrated, and swore

The clip was cued up after newsreader Matthew Amroliwala cut away from another news item that couldn’t be broadcast.

He said: ‘Well, apologies we can’t bring you that clip, but our correspondent Charlotte Gallagher has this report.’

In the clip, Gallagher begins speaking but starts her sentence over, seemingly unfazed – suggesting the clip is a pre-recorded video that was aired by mistake.

She said: ‘As the public face of the PSNI, Chief Constable Simon Byrne…as the public face of the PSNI, Chief Constable Simon Byrne has been under an incredible amount of pressure over this data breach.

‘Today he said he was “deeply sorry”, describing the breach as, of…I can’t get my words out…f***.’

She could be seen pursing her lips and rolling her tongue over her teeth in frustration.

The sound then cut out and the channel cut back to the studio, where Amroliwala said: ‘Well, apologies there for that confusion.

‘That was our correspondent Charlotte Gallagher, she’s monitoring what’s been happening there at that news conference.

‘We will get more on that here in the next little while.’

Newsreader Matthew Amroliwala introduced the clip before initially apologising for ‘confusion’. He followed up with a further apology for the ‘bad language’ shortly after

Social media users were sympathetic to Gallagher after the pre-recorded clip was aired by mistake – with more than one believing she would be ‘mortified’ by her bosses’ error

Around 20 minutes later, the anchor issued an on-air apology for the mistake.

He said: ‘Now, before we move on, I want to apologise for the bad language a little earlier you may have heard in a clip.

‘We were playing you the outcome of the press conference [where] we heard from the Chief Constable of Northern Ireland’s police force, that data breach, and we went to our correspondent.

‘We played a clip and there was bad language in that, so apologies for that in terms of what you just heard.’

The blunder was immediately picked up on X – formerly Twitter – with one user writing: ‘Charlotte Gallagher must be mortified… and fuming. I know I would be!’

Another said: ‘Ouch! Every live broadcaster and their managers’ worst nightmare.’

A third shared: ‘I feel like I’ve just got a glimpse into your own personal hell.’

While another user pondered: ‘What on earth is going on, on the BBC News Channel? It’s embarrassing.’

But another praised both journalists, writing: ‘Bless her – bet she was mortified when she realised that had gone out! @amroliwalabbc cool under pressure as ever!’

The blunder came after the BBC merged parts of its TV news operations earlier this year.

The BBC World News and BBC News 24 channels were merged in April in a move that saw scores of jobs lost.

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