BBC news presenter Maryam Moshiri has apologised after making an offensive hand gesture live on air during Wednesday's midday bulletin. The gesture, captured as the broadcast began, quickly went viral on social media.
Moshiri, one of the broadcaster's chief presenters, appeared to give the middle finger to the camera before swiftly removing her hand and proceeding to read the headlines. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), she explained it was part of a private joke with her production team.
She wrote: 'I was pretending to count down as the director was counting me down from 10-0... including the fingers to show the number. When we got to one I turned finger around as a joke and did not realise that this would be caught on camera.'
Moshiri added: 'It was a private joke with the team and I'm so sorry it went out on air! It was not my intention for this to happen and I'm sorry if I offended or upset anyone.'
This is not the first time Moshiri has made headlines for hand gestures. In August, she improvised by making a moon shape with her hands when a technical fault prevented her from showing an image of the blue supermoon.
