BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty issued an apology to comedian Lucy Beaumont just minutes into an interview that viewers described as a 'car crash' and 'cringe-worthy'. The awkward exchange unfolded on Friday, July 17, as Munchetty co-hosted with Charlie Stayt.
Apology Over Celebrity Mastermind Clip
Beaumont, 42, appeared to promote her upcoming stand-up tour inspired by her poor quiz performances. During the chat, a clip from her appearance on Celebrity Mastermind was broadcast, where she famously made no attempt to answer questions. Beaumont said: 'Whenever I do publicity, they always show that clip - it's torture for me.' Munchetty quickly interjected: 'Oh, I'm sorry.' Beaumont replied: 'No it's alright. I've got over it now. It's fine, it's fine.'
Discussion on The Wheel Losses
Munchetty then turned to Beaumont's appearances on Michael McIntyre's The Wheel, where her incorrect advice cost a contestant £98,000. Munchetty noted: 'I mean it's not so bad when the humiliation and getting things wrong is just about you but it's when you go on something like the wheel. You've done that more than once.' Beaumont revealed: 'Well I've done it three times now but one of them hasn't aired. I hold the record for losing people the most amount of money.'
A clip showed a question from The Wheel: 'Who scored the most goals at the 2022 FIFA World Cup?' Munchetty admitted: 'I don't think that is an easy question, even though we have just had the world cup.' She asked Beaumont if she claimed to be a World Cup expert before the show, to which Beaumont replied: 'No, it just lands on you and you answer questions you don't know anything about.'
Viewer Reactions
Munchetty pressed further: 'What's it like looking them in the eyes when you've lost them so much money? Because you've done it three times now.' Beaumont described the first contestant as nice, but said the second and third pairs made it 'tricky'. Viewers took to social media to express discomfort. One posted: 'I find car crash interviews like this so awkward to watch. ##bbcbreakfast.' Another commented: 'This is a tad awkward. Not sure I'd call this 'humour' ....#bbcbreakfast.' A third remarked: 'This interview is cringe.' One viewer said: 'That must have been the most awkward interview I've seen for a while.' Another noted: '#bbcbreakfast what an awkward interview. You could see Naga cringing.'
BBC Breakfast airs daily from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.
