BBC Breakfast halted for 'breaking news' as host forced to cut interview short
The latest instalment of BBC Breakfast was halted for a breaking news announcement live on air.
Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty were back on the famous red sofa on Saturday (February 22) morning to share the latest news headlines from across the globe.
The main story was the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Hamas has committed to freeing six Israeli hostages in the Saturday swap.
Israel will then release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, the largest group of detainees freed at once since the cease-fire began in late January.
Charlie was speaking to former UK ambassador to Ukraine Simon Smith when he was forced to abruptly end their interview.
READ MORE: Naga Munchetty shuts down BBC Breakfast co-star saying 'I don't want to hear it'
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The presenter explained: "Simon, I appreciate your time this morning and your expertise and I apologise for interrupting you but we've got to go straight to Gaza where the latest handover of the hostages looks like is about to begin."
Two hostages were later led by gunmen onto the stage at the handover point in Rafah. They appear to be Avera Mengistu, an Israeli of Ethiopian descent who entered Gaza of his own accord in 2014 and has been held there since; and Tal Shoham, who was seized from Kibbutz Be'eri during the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
It comes after Naga delivered some "very sad" news live on air during Thursday's (February 20) show as they informed viewers about the tragic story of Southport's Alice da Silva Aguiar, whose parents visited her primary school for the first time since her death in July last year.
Naga began the coverage with: "Good Morning, it's Thursday 20th of February. In their first broadcast interview since their daughter was killed, the parents of Alice da Silva Aguia have said that she was born to be a star."
Charlie elaborated on the tragedy: "Alice, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Bebe King were killed in a knife attack last July. Both Alice and Bebe were pupils at Churchdown Primary School, which is now planning to build a playground in memory of the two girls.
The show then cut to a pre-recorded segment with Alice's bereaved parents, Sergio and Alex, visiting the primary school for the first time after their daughter's passing.
BBC Breakfast airs daily on BBC One at 6am
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