A news anchor for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was caught flipping her middle finger to the camera as the news program returned to air on Wednesday in a clip that went viral.
Maryam Moshiri, chief presenter for BBC News, was seen flashing her middle finger to the camera with a smirk on her face, after the BBC countdown clock descended to zero. Realizing she was on-air, Moshiri quickly composed herself and and said, "Live from London, this is BBC News."
The news clip was shared by an account on X, drawing over one million views overnight.
"This isn’t satire, an actual BBC News presenter got caught giving the middle finger live. Maryam Moshiri summing up the professionalism currently at the BBC," the user wrote on X.
Moshiri apologized for the gesture in a Thursday morning social media post. She explained she was having a "private joke" with her colleagues when the channel returned to air.
"Hey everyone, yesterday just before the top of the hour I was joking around a bit with the team in the gallery. I was pretending to count down as the director was counting me down from 10-0 including the fingers to show the number. So from 10 fingers held up to one," Moshiri wrote.
"When we got to 1 I turned [my] finger around as a joke and did not realise that this would be caught on camera. 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," she added.
The journalist claimed she "wasn't flipping the bird" at anyone. "It was a silly joke that was meant for a small number of my mates," she stated.
The video provoked a variety of reactions, from people laughing off the gesture, to others who were skeptical of the journalist's apology.
Some critics complained that the BBC is funded through a license fee UK households are required to pay.
The BBC referred Fox News Digital to Moshiri's apology when reached for comment.
