Watch: Full Footage of BBC Anchor ‘Flipping Off’ Camera in ‘Private Joke With Team’ Released

The full video of longtime BBC anchor Maryam Moshiri "flipping off" the camera on live TV has been released. 

In the clip below, Moshiri can be seen playfully counting down from 10 with her fingers ahead of going live on air. Like previously shown, the clip ends with her seemingly giving the audience the bird as the broadcast begins. Moshiri said in a separate post that neither she nor BBC released the full footage, but noted that "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."

Though the news presenter was initially criticized by viewers, many social media users are taking her side as the full video footage paints a lighter side to the story.

"This just makes it more funny and obvious it was just a laugh between colleagues, not the finger to us all as some are trying to paint a narrative as," wrote one follower on X (formerly Twitter). 

Another added, "She's hilarious. Honestly, I'd have been laughing my arse off if I was in the production crew. We often have to act ultra professionally & seriously at work too. Jokes with colleagues are just a natural way to get some relief from the bloody tedium of it."

After the initial clip made the rounds on social media last week, Moshiri issued an apology and insisted the mishap was just a "private joke" between her and her team.

"Hey everyone, yesterday just before the top of the hour 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," she began. 

The broadcast journalist continued: "When we got to 1 I turned [my] finger 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! It was not my intention for this to happen and I'm sorry if I offended or upset anyone. I wasn't 'flipping the bird' at viewers or even a person really."

She concluded, "It was a silly joke that was meant for a small number of my mates. 🤦🏻‍♀️."