BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri issues apology following middle-finger gaffe

A BBC News presenter has apologised for a "joke" in which viewers saw her quickly raise her middle finger to camera before beginning a midday bulletin.

Maryam Moshiri made the huge gaffe ahead of a bulletin on Wednesday afternoon (December 6). Viewers were shocked as they saw the presenter flash up the rude gesture, raise her eyebrows and smile before adopting a contrasting serious face to begin the news segment.

She immediately launched into the line: "Live from London, this is BBC News." The presenter then moved into talking about the midday headlines, including Boris Johnson giving evidence at the Covid Inquiry.

A clip of the moment went viral on social media, with the short clip views millions of times. The BBC have not commented on the incident as of yet.

In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the presenter apologised for the incident, stating that it was a "silly joke that was meant for a small number of my mates". Moshiri 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."

BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri has apologised after she raised her middle finger to camera seconds before beginning her news bulletin. (Credit: BBC News) | BBC NEWS

She continued: "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."

Moshiri was spotted by viewers last year in a moment where she attempted to illustrate a blue supermoon using her hands shaped in a circle. During the bulletin, the presenter, who has been at the organisation for 16 years, told amused viewers: "I'm so sorry, I don't have a picture to show you."