Top 10 Most Awkward Live British TV Moments

Like or loathe them, talent shows are prime time weekend viewing – and Simon Cowell is top dog for the format. But the final for “Britain’s Got Talent 2013” won headlines for reasons other than the acts. Violinist Natalie Holt staged an eggy protest against Cowell’s influence over the entertainment industry, taking literal aim at the TV judge. While singers Richard and Adam maintained their composure with a plucky performance, Natalie emptied her egg box for an audience of millions. We would roll with an egg-based pun, but we’re just too chicken.

Heading into “EastEnders Live Week” in 2015, you could forgive the cast for feeling a little nervous – not only were wedding bells ringing for Jane and Ian, but Albert Square had become consumed by one of the show’s longest-running mysteries; who killed Lucy? So, all in all Jo Joyner’s now-famous slip was fairly inconsequential – but hilarious all the same. When asking after Ian Beale, she accidentally refers to the actor who plays him, Adam Woodyatt. No wonder Jane looks mortified - hasn’t Ian been through enough already?

While they are two of TV’s most unpredictable and divisive celebrities, few “Good Morning Britain” viewers will have expected to hear this over their breakfast. Katie Price stopped by the GMB sofa in July 2017, on a promo tour for her new single, “I Got U”. But Piers was unimpressed, promptly suggesting that he could do a better job. And so begins the both of them flexing their vocal chords, in an effort to outdo each other. Susanna Reid is head in hands in the background, and is it any wonder?

Perhaps more than any other live event, football’s Transfer Deadline Day seems almost guaranteed to give us some sort of live-on-air indiscretion. A hotbed for all kinds of hullabaloo, we’ve had the randy fans in Norwich and the blow-up doll at Aston Villa, but we’ve given the nod to Alan Irwin at Everton. He’s part way through his piece-to-camera when a brazen fan invades the shot with a risqué prop. A flash of purple, and it’s red faces all round.

Back in 2001, the magician David Blaine had become one of the world’s most talked about people. So, fresh out of his “Frozen in Time” stunt, performed in November 2000, he stopped by GMTV to give us a chance to see what all the fuss was about. Not that he gave a lot away. Interviewed by Eamonn Holmes, Blaine cuts an eerie, moody and unresponsive character, leaving Holmes to scratch around for something to say. In fairness, Eamonn does a fine job, and even welcomed Blaine back for a rematch in 2003.

A leading reporter around the grounds for the football results show, “Soccer Saturday”, Kammy has become one of the programme’s biggest draws – thanks in large part to his occasional tendency to completely mess things up. The red card at Portsmouth is easily his most famous mix-up though. Although he’s meant to be watching the game, Chris has clearly been distracted, or perhaps he’s just confused by the rules? Either way, it’s hilarious.

In a bid to reinvent itself in 2015, “The X Factor” did away with its recognised presenter, Dermot O’Leary, replacing him with Olly Murs and Caroline Flack. The pair provoked endless criticism throughout the series, but this particular moment was car crash TV at its finest. With two contestants awaiting their fate, and an audience on tenterhooks, Murs manages to read the result way too early. A gaffe which led to speculation that the show was fixed, Dermot was promptly reinstated for the following year.

A veteran news anchor, Huw Edwards thought he’d seen it all – and then this happened. BBC News went into a mini meltdown in June 2017, when a technical glitch caused the show to open in chaos. ‘Breaking News’ graphics bombarded our screens in between a barrage of unexplained images, all while Huw sits deep in thought, waiting to begin. There’s a click of the mouse, a couple of grimaces, a quick game of noughts-and-crosses until, after four fantastically awkward minutes, he finally delivers the headlines.

In May 2006, Guy Goma visited the Beeb for a job interview in the IT department; instead, he was interviewed live on air as a tech guru. In a world-famous case of mistaken identity, producers confused him for Guy Kewney (an actual technology expert), before rushing him through make-up and sitting him alongside presenter, Karen Bowerman. The best bit? Guy goes and answers Karen’s questions, and he’s quite convincing. Goma wasn’t successful with the job he’d originally applied for, but he did become an overnight celebrity. Silver linings, and all that.

When Professor Robert Kelly was invited onto BBC News to discuss Korean politics in 2017, he might’ve expected a serious exchange. But as we’ve seen, live TV doesn’t always work like that, and his interview turned farcical in just a few short seconds. First he’s interrupted by his daughter, then his son and then his wife. He and his family went viral when everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. While a follow-up interview went some way toward explaining what happened, it’s the ultimate in awkward (and hilarious) television.