A BBC news anchor was caught out giving the middle finger on air as she began a news bulletin in a clip that has gone viral on social media.
Maryam Moshiri raised her eyebrows and flashed the middle finger as she appeared on screen at the start of Wednesday's midday news bulletin.
After realising she was live on air, the presenter quickly snatches her hand away before reading the headlines.
"Live from London, this is BBC news," she says following the error.
She then continued: "Britain's former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson apologises for the pain and loss suffered in the UK during the first pandemic."
After the clip went viral, the presenter issued an apology on saying that she had been "joking around" with her team before the programme.
In a statement on social media platform X, she said: "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.
"When we got to 1 I turned 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. I wasn’t ‘flipping the bird’ at viewers or even a person really.
"It was a silly joke that was meant for a small number of my mates."
Last September, the BBC news presenter hilariously described a rare blue supermoon with her hands when an image of the event failed to appear on screen.
Improvising, the presenter proceeded to use her hands to make a circle shape meaning to signify the moon.
"I'm so sorry, I don't have a picture to show you," she told viewers.
Moshiri was announced as part of the new line-up of BBC News Channel presenters on February and took over The Daily Global programme in July which she continues to host as well as anchoring.
Prior to her promotion, Moshiri worked as a business reporter for the news channel for 16 years.
The announcement of the presenter shake-up came as the BBC combined its domestic and international channels to create a single 24-hour TV service as part of a new “digital-first” strategy.
The broadcaster has warned that it must make £500million in savings and has moved BBC Four and CBBC online as part of a bid to save money.
More recently, the BBC announced that it would cut Newsnight to 30 minutes and reduce half of the staff amid the "tough financial situation", Deborah Turness, chief executive of news and current affairs said.
The BBC has been approached for comment.
