YOU could cut the tension with a knife this morning on BBC Breakfast – and viewers most definitely noticed.
Fans of the long-running morning programme blasted Naga Munchetty as they noticed she was “sulking live on TV”.
There were multiple awkward instances the morning show as Naga, 49, took to the airwaves alongside Charlie Stayt, 61.
Firstly, sports presenter Hugh Ferris, who was dutifully filling in for former Strictly Come Dancing star Mike Bushell, appeared to be somewhat cut off by Naga.
His last BBC Breakfast story was on Team GB athlete Matthew Hudson Smith, who stormed to victory with a new European record in the 400 metres in Oslo last night.
At the end of the bulletin, the sports broadcaster said: “That Charlie and Naga is, the news about running.”
He then made a joke running gesture with his arms, which made Charlie burst out laughing but Naga was not quite on their wavelength.
She burst out: “And we’re done then?”, while making slicing hand gestures.
This was followed by a rigid nod of the head and a sarcastic thumbs up to her fellow BBC colleague.
But that was not the only incident as Naga and Charlie seemed to have a small row over a teaser of what was coming up.
A wrong time on a graphic seemed to prompt frustration as they discussed the first hippo birth in the UK for seven years.
Naga made a few digs at her co-host as things reached boiling point in the studio.
“How have you come along with your theory, Charlie?”, she bluntly asked her co-star.
She added: “That… what was it, baby hippos look just the same as adult hippos?”
She sarcastically added: “It’s a rare animal that does that.”
Charlie hit back, saying: “So what we did there was we told everyone that that was a baby hippo.
“So everyone knew it was a baby hippo, and so you know, it’s a baby hippo.”
She couldn’t help but interject with a dig as she noted: “Well the fact it was in a bucket helped as well.”
Charlie and Naga remind me of my nan & grandad. If he dared to fall asleep after working all hours he would get a slap on the knee and shouted at
BBC Breakfast viewer
An undeterred Charlie continued: “And if you saw a baby hippo just in isolation on its own, I think they look remarkably similar to a fully grown hippo, but a lot smaller.
“And I think if you compare and contrast that with a puppy or a kitten, you just know straight away there’s a difference.”
He added: “That’s all I said, I put it out there as a thought.”
But instead of striking up a conversation with her co-star or addressing his point, Naga just looked straight at the camera and moved on.
Viewers could sense the tension as she bluntly ignored him and directed viewers to the local bulletin and weather.
Taking to X – formerly known as Twitter– one viewer sarcastically noted: “Naga Hagger getting very Naga with Charlie Bouffant over a baby hippo.”
A second joked: “Charlie and Naga remind me of my nan & grandad. if he dared to fall asleep after working all hours he would get a slap on the knee and shouted at.”
Naga shouldn’t sulk on live TV. Very unprofessional
BBC Breakfast viewer
“God Naga is condescending at times,” stated a third BBC Breakfast fan.
As a fourth claimed: “There are many people wishing Naga would get lost!”
Posting a picture of the pair separated in the studio and a downcast Naga, a fifth viewer couldn’t help but comment: “When you have to separate the kids after they’ve been fighting.”
Someone else added: “Charlie and Naga really don’t get on do they?
“Naga shouldn’t sulk on live TV. Very unprofessional.
“Charlie just seems a nice chap who is trying to get along.”
A seventh fan replied: “I have often thought that, Charlie looks like he is very tolerant of her, no love lost there.”
To which the original user echoed: “I find her very brusque and aggressive.”
BBC News' Biggest Blunders
The Beeb has suffered a number of gaffes recently, here we take a look at the biggest, and funniest, mishaps to date:
- Maryam Moshiri flashing her middle finger during a live bulletin
- Tongued-tied sports presenter Chetan Pathak dropped an X-rated word during a report
- BBC Look North’s Peter Levy asked viewers “how big their holes are” during an innuendo-filled segment
- Newsreader Roger Johnson was left scrambling after saying “cuckoo c*ck” instead of clock
- BBC Breakfast’s Nina Warhurst mixing up the names of her co-hosts live on air
- The news correspondent is mistaken for shop staff and interrupted during the report
- Lukwesa Burak was left speechless after being caught stretching during a break
- Newsreader forced to run across the studio during epic camera mishap
