'Mummy, what's his name?': Viewers left in hysterics after little girl crashes her mum's live BBC News interview

A little girl has offered us all a reminder about the perils of parenting through a pandemic by interrupting her mum during a live BBC News interview and striking up a conversation with the newsreader.

Dr Clare Wenham, from the London School of Economics (LSE), was being interviewed about the COVID-19 pandemic at home via video call.

But a few seconds into the segment the expert’s daughter, Scarlett, appears in shot climbing on top of the desk where the interview is being conducted.

Dr Wenham calmly lifts her daughter down from the desk, while continuing to answer the interviewee’s questions and her little one busies herself with a picture of a unicorn at the back of the room.

But, not understanding her mum is live on TV, Scarlett continues to try to get her mum’s attention.

“Mummy, where do you want this picture?” Scarlett went on to ask her mother.

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In response, presenter Christian Fraser commented: “Scarlett, I think it looks better on the lower shelf… and it’s a lovely unicorn.”

Overhearing the newsreader Scarlett looks intently at the screen before asking: “Mummy, what’s his name?” while Dr Wenham gently encourages her daughter to be quiet.

“My name is Christian,” Mr Fraser replies.

Scarlett responded: “Christian, I’m just deciding where it can go and where mummy wants it to go.”

“I think just on that shelf is great, thank you,” said Dr Wenham, before turning back to the camera and adding: “I’m so sorry”.

The presenter wasn’t at all put off by the youngster’s interruption, describing the exchange with Scarlett as “the most informative interview I’ve done all day”.

Viewers were also left in hysterics about the exchange, taking to Twitter to praise Dr Wenham for the professional way she handled the interruption and pointing out the perfect way it illustrated the difficulties of juggling working from home and home schooling.

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Dr Wenham is an assistant professor in global health policy at the LSE and had been on the programme to discuss local COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK and the way testing information has been shared with local authorities.

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Following the response to her viral interview, Dr Wenham headed to social media to thank fans for helping to normalise the working from home/childcare juggle many parents are finding themselves in right now.

She also gave an update on the positioning of Scarlett’s unicorn picture.

“We’ve decided on a shelf for the unicorn,” she wrote alongside a picture of her and Scarlett dressed as a superhero.

“Thanks to all for kind words normalising the work-parent balance that so many are juggling amid #covid19 chaos.”

It isn’t the first time family life has got in the way of a live interview. Back in 2017, professor Robert Kelly became an internet sensation when his BBC News interview from home was hilariously crashed by his wife and their two young children, causing the video to go viral.

Additional reporting PA.