Latest news with #peacock
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
BBC presenter makes peacock noises on air, two years on from middle finger incident
BBC newsreader Maryam Moshiri performed a peacock impression live on air on Monday, 7 July. The impression occurred during a segment about a loose peacock terrorising a small town in Wiltshire. Ms Moshiri stated she was told by her producer not to do the impression but proceeded to do it anyway. This incident follows a previous viral moment in 2023 when she accidentally displayed her middle finger during a news bulletin, for which she later apologised. Watch the video in full above.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
BBC newsreader does bizarre peacock impression live on air – two years after viral rude gesture
A BBC newsreader did a bizarre impression of a peacock live on air on Monday (7 July). Maryam Moshiri was presenting a segment on a loose peacock terrorising a small town in Wiltshire when she shocked viewers by imitating the sounds of the colourful bird. 'I've been told by my producer not to do an impression of a peacock so I'm going to do it anyway,' she said. Ms Moshiri went viral two years ago when she accidentally displayed her middle finger at the camera during a news bulletin in 2023, later apologising for the incident by saying she was 'joking around with the team in the gallery'.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
BBC newsreader does bizarre peacock impression live on air – two years after finger gaffe
Watch as a BBC newsreader does a bizarre impression of a peacock live on air on Monday (7 July). Maryam Moshiri was presenting a segment on a loose peacock terrorising a small town in Wiltshire when she shocked viewers by imitating the sounds of the colourful bird. 'I've been told by my producer not to do an impression of a peacock so I'm going to do it anyway,' she said. Ms Moshiri went viral two years ago when she accidentally displayed her middle finger at the camera during a news bulletin in 2023, later apologising for the incident by saying she was 'joking around with the team in the gallery'.
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Peacock terrorises town: Families living in fear of feathered thug ravaging vegetable patches and waking neighbourhood with mating calls
A peaceful market town is being terrorised by an antisocial thug tearing apart vegetable patches and waking up the neighbourhood at the crack of dawn with ear-splitting noise. The perpetrator, a peacock handed the name of Percy by the locals it targets, first makes itself known at 4.30am each day with a mating call heard for miles. The lovesick bird then moves on to devouring meticulously planted lettuces and courgettes, occasionally tucking into some runner beans on the side. Hazel Harvey, 67, has been particularly exposed to Percy's prattling, with her roof in Marlborough, Wiltshire one of the peacock's favoured vantage points. The retired accountant said: 'It walks along our roof and starts calling at around half past five in the morning, which is not the sort of time that I really want to be woken up at. 'I have been told it is an adolescent male and that the sound is a mating call. But the mating season ended at the end of June. 'It doesn't have a hope in hell of finding a mate - its tail feathers are very tatty.' Peter and Carolyn Nicholls, 78 and 75, recalled finding Percy making himself comfortable in their garden when they got back from holiday. Carolyn, a retired nurse, said: 'It acted like it owned the place. I found little peck marks on our courgettes. 'We sort of shooed it away but then it just went up on the roof.' Mr Nicholls added: 'It must have come from somewhere. Either somebody kept it as a pet or there must be some sort of specialist living nearby.' Eric Gilbert, 83, a retired headteacher born and raised in the area, said he had seen the peacock eating his beloved hand-grown vegetables. 'I saw it biting into my runner beans. I was at my bedroom window and saw it standing in the middle of my lettuce patch. It had decided to have a different menu for breakfast I think.' He added: 'Another time, it buried itself in my lettuce patch, working itself down into the soil, presumably to look after its feathers or to keep itself cool. 'When I went up to it, it fluffed up its feathers and ran in circles - going a bit berserk.' Brendan Palmer, 54, a teacher from Somerset, said he had grown fond of the bird, particularly his 'cheeky' personality. Hazel Harvey, pictured, has been particularly exposed to Percy's prattling, with her roof in Marlborough, Wiltshire one of the peacock's favoured vantage points 'His early routine suits me just fine,' he admitted. 'I get up early to do weights in the morning at around 4.30am. 'He's my workout alarm. If I hear him crow before I get started, I know I'm running late. 'Percy is a bird with a serious sense of routine. He comes out of that big tree and goes on to next door's roof to crow at 4.30am and 9.30pm. Always exactly the same. 'The only thing is he winds up our dogs, Maggie and Luna when he goes on our back lawn and our front lawn. My dog Luna wants to eat him.' Alfie Game, 71, a retired botanist, has also had Percy perching on his roof and described how the peacock almost got stuck on his solar panels when reciting his signature mating call. 'I don't want him up there because he rolls around trying to wrestle his way out,' he said. 'If you chase him around he just looks at you with this astonished expression. I once shooed him away from my garden and he went back up like a balloon onto my roof. 'He screams for about 20 minutes in the hope that a lady peacock will hear him. His dog Luna is far from a fan of the feathered fiend and 'wants to eat him' 'But you would have thought that by now he would have realised that there aren't any other peacocks in Marlborough.' Peacocks were first introduced to the UK in the 14th century when aristocrat Sir John de Foxley brought a couple back from the Holy Land, according to Peacocks UK. Native to India and Sri Lanka, they have long been kept as status symbols in Britain with many arriving as gifts from foreign rulers. They became more widely available by the 1600s after a spell of being bred in captivity and remain popular today.
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Moment gaffe-prone BBC news presenter Maryam Moshiri pretends to be a PEACOCK live on air... after declaring 'I've been told not to'
After Maryam Moshiri's middle finger blunder live on TV two years ago, it would have been safe to presume she would want to avoid any such similar gaffes. But the BBC News presenter has made somewhat of a running joke about her unexpected on air performances - despite her producer's better judgement. The 47-year-old did a peacock impression while presenting a story yesterday evening, raising her hands to her ears and making a high-pitched squawking sound. The hilarious imitation came before a news package about a disruptive peacock terrorising residents in Wiltshire with its loud bird call and tendency to chew through vegetable gardens. She prefaced the impression with: 'I've been told specifically from my producer to not do an impression of a peacock so I'm going to do it anyway.' 'There we go, how amazing is that,' she added afterwards. Ms Moshiri responded to a video of the imitation that was circulating on X by writing 'waiting for that call from BBC2, asking me to present my own birdwatching show…. Errrrr… still waiting'. It is not her first time dabbling with bird impressions, having attempted a seagull call while reporting on Seagull Boy last year, who had won an award for his impersonation of the creature. The hilarious imitation came before a news package about a disruptive peacock terrorising residents in Wiltshire with its loud bird call and tendency to chew through vegetable gardens The newsreader became an online sensation in the last 18 months thanks to her on-air botches, deadpan humour and ability to laugh at herself. Ms Moshiri first caused shockwaves in December 2023 when she gestured her middle finger at the camera before reading out the top of the hour headlines. In an extended video released after the slip up, Ms Moshiri was seen making a series of exaggerated gestures with her hands before reaching 'one' and appearing to 'flip off' the camera. The veteran presenter said the gaffe was 'private joke' with crew and issued an apology after the end of the clip was broadcast live. She said: '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... 'When we got to 1 I turned finger [sic] 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 [...] I wasn't 'flipping the bird' at viewers or even a person really.' She later denied that she or the BBC had released the extended video, writing on Twitter: 'So someone released the full video! It wasn't the BBC who released this and it certainly wasn't me! 'But in a way I think I'm glad this is out there, as it shows I WAS having a bit of a joke with the crew during the countdown. Again, so sorry it went out on air. It was meant to be a private laugh.' Despite causing a stir at the time, Ms Moshiri was able to poke fun at the scandal with a mocked up New Year's countdown with her blunder projected on to the London Eye only weeks later. She added a caption alongside the snap reading: 'I'm letting someone else do the countdown tonight ! I'll be home with the family .. wishing you all a wonderful New Year. May you all enjoy health and happiness in 2024'. In May that year, Ms Moshiri brought joy to Eurovision fans after she suffered another mishap on air. The presenter was seen batting her assistant away as he tried to fix the host's hair after the cameras have started rolling. The presenter then recovers from the blunder and delivers the start of the bulletin hours ahead of the beginning of the contest. In response to the post on X showing the mix-up, Ms Moshiri said: 'Omg I can't believe this happened. There is a delay and everyone was so worried about my messy hair! @MarvinNadalutti your hand is famous!' In other such amusing on air performances, Ms Moshiri has bent a metal spoon as a test of strength during a segment which showed a man crushing a frying pan with his hands as well as trying to represent the size of a blue moon. Ms Moshiri also recently gave herself the title of England's Strongest Newsreader after bending a spoon back on itself live on air Unfortunately, she didn't have footage or a photo to show viewers at the time, which may have left some people wanting - but she had a backup plan. Raising her hands in front of her, she made a spherical shape and told her audience: 'It looked a little bit like this, there you go.' She has also had a coughing fit while reading the bulletin but soon had to 'give up' and cut to the news package. Taking to X to explain her latest gaffe, she wrote: 'When you get that horrible tickly throat and coughing fit - but you are broadcasting! Had to give up after a bit!
