BBC presenter left red-faced after suffering major blunder live on-air
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BBC viewers couldn't help but chuckle when presenter Alexis Green slightly muddled her lines during a live broadcast. While covering the Oxford floods, Alexis hit a snag mid-report.
The mishap occurred just after South Today's in-studio newsreader Jo Kent handed over to Alexis, positioned by the River Thames. The weather expert, clad in a black puffer jacket, began well, remarking: "Residents here have learnt to live with flooding over the years and some say the 2007 floods were the worst they've ever experienced."
However, what followed was a small gaffe as Alexis grappled with a sudden lapse in memory. Attempting to soldier on, she said: "Now, with a warming climate, rainfall is expected to become heavier and more persistent in the future."
Her speech wobbled as she stumbled, continuing: "Which is why people here have taken matters into their own homes, hou-, own, own, hands."
(Image: BBC)
Clearly flustered, she rearranged her thoughts, concluding: "Basically, to protect their homes and their businesses."
Though her phrasing tumbled, it was Alexis's reaction that drew giggles from the audience, reports the Mirror.
On camera, Alexis playfully grimaced and gestured at her own blunder. Despite the slip-up, the camera soon switched to a prerecorded clip of Alexis strolling alongside the river – yet, intriguingly, this little blip was retained in the BBC iPlayer version of the segment.
(Image: BBC)
Fans took to social media to share their reactions, with one viewer said: "One wrote: "@AlexisGreenTV we love you as much as we love live TV."
Another fan light-heartedly commented: "Alexis Green.exe has malfunctioned," while a third shared their amusement by posting: "Her expression," followed by two laughing emojis.
This isn't the first time a presenter at the broadcaster has experienced such an uncomfortable on-air moment. In 2023, BBC Breakfast's Ben Boulos mistakenly interpreted retail analyst Teresa Wickham's dystonia symptoms as agreement nods.
The exchange gained traction on TikTok and Teresa expressed that the incident inadvertently aided in spreading awareness about her medical condition.
According to the NHS, dystonia is "the name for uncontrolled and sometimes painful muscle movements (spasms)
Ben revisited this embarrassing encounter a year later during a follow-up discussion with Teresa about her condition.
Opening the segment, Ben confessed to his co-host Sarah Campbell how "mortified" he was for having misread the situation. He remarked: "The thing about this job that we do is that if you say something wrong, put your foot in it, it can very easily go viral.
"Remember, you were here with me when I introduced a guest on Zoom, noticed she was shaking her head, and assumed she was just disagreeing with me in disbelief.
"But then, I commented on it, and she kindly clarified that she actually has a brain disorder called Dystonia, which causes involuntary muscle spasms making her head shake. I couldn't have been more embarrassed about it. It spread like wildfire."
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