‘What’s his name mummy?’: Expert’s daughter gatecrashes live BBC interview

Scenes resonate with parents working at home during pandemic

A small child has interrupted a live BBC interview in scenes which have resonated with parents working at home during the pandemic.

Dr Clare Wenham, a global health policy expert from the London School of Economics, had been speaking to the broadcaster about local coronavirus lockdowns.

But her young daughter soon interrupted the interview, appearing in the background as she decided where a piece of art depicting a unicorn should be displayed on a shelf.

When asked by BBC News presenter Christian Fraser what her child’s name is, Dr Wenham replied: “She’s called Scarlett.”

Fraser then addressed Scarlett directly, telling her: “I think it looks better on the lower shelf. And it’s a lovely unicorn.”

After the newsreader’s input, Scarlett then begins to ask Dr Wenham: “What’s his name? What’s his name mummy?”

The mother gently shushes her daughter as Fraser says “do stop me if you need to crack on,” before telling the girl: “My name is Christian.”

“Christian,” Scarlett repeats, before adding: “I’m just deciding where it can go. Where mummy wants it to go. Mummy where do you want it to go?”

Dr Wenham agrees the artwork would look great on the shelf and apologises to the interviewer as they both share a laugh.

The footage was reminiscent of a similar BBC interview in 2017, in which an interview about South Korean politics was crashed by two youngsters.

A live interview with an MSNBC correspondent was similarly interrupted by her daughter in 2019.