BBC Sports presenter Chris Mitchell awkwardly taps on imaginary iPad on air

Mitchell looks around, then swipes his hand

Chris Mitchell taps an imaginary iPad (YouTube)

A BBC Sports presenter left viewers scratching their heads after he tapped on an imaginary device at the end of a broadcast.

Chris Mitchell was finishing a bulletin on the BBC’s News Channel’s Sports Today segment when he said goodbye to viewers.

The otherwise unremarkable broadcast took a strange turn when Mitchell turned to face away from the camera, and awkwardly looked as though he was tapping on an imaginary iPad in his empty hand.

Viewers quickly took to Twitter to poke fun at Mitchell’s odd behaviour.

Kevin Robinson wrote: 'THIS IS EVEN BETTER THAN PACK-OF-PAPER-GATE!' referring to the cringe-worthy moment last year when BBC presenter Simom McCoy mistakenly picked up a stack of paper to hold on air rather than his iPad.

Happy to see the funny side of his gaffe - and to remind viewers about McCoy's mistake - Mitchell replied on Twitter: "Simon will always be King!"