Veteran newsreader Peter Overton suffered an awkward on-air mishap during Wednesday evening's broadcast of Nine News Sydney. While introducing the network's political editor, Overton accidentally spat out a throat lozenge mid-sentence.
The 59-year-old anchor, who has presented the 6pm bulletin since 2009, was transitioning to a report from Charles Croucher in Canberra when the incident occurred. 'And Nine's political editor Charles, oh excuse me, Charles Croucher joins me from Canberra. Charles, good evening to you,' he said, appearing to catch the lozenge in his hand.
Overton later revealed he had undergone vocal cord surgery earlier this year to remove a polyp and now keeps lozenges nearby. He explained that after misreading the bulletin order, he realised he would have to speak while one was still in his mouth. 'I didn't actually know where it landed, so had to spend the next package searching for it and then I found it stuck on the back of my hand,' he said.
Colleagues on the Today show ribbed Overton the following morning, replaying the clip in slow motion. One presenter declared 'great catch' before they played it again 'to make it even more embarrassing.' Overton, who has worked at Nine for decades, said he is now on the mend with help from a speech pathologist.
