BBC Breakfast hosts Jon Kay and Sally Nugent were met with mixed reactions from viewers during Tuesday’s episode, which featured a segment on puns that some found underwhelming. The show, which typically delivers the latest news and current affairs, took a lighter turn when the hosts spoke with Will Bicknell-Found, the champion of the UK Pun Championships, who joined the program live via video link from the Leicester Comedy Festival.
In a bid to engage the audience, Jon and Sally invited viewers to send in their puns, promising to read out some of the best during the live broadcast. However, the segment failed to impress some BBC Breakfast viewers, who took to social media to express their discontent, according to Lancs Live.
One viewer tweeted, “No more jokes. Sorry, #BBCBreakfast, you lost me at ‘send in your own jokes.’ Really scraping the bottom of the barrel this morning – the full gamut from gloom and doom news to mindless trivia. Time for a complete revamp.”
Another user commented sarcastically, “#BBCBreakfast We haven’t done any journalism today, so please send in your favorite puns.” Meanwhile, one more lightheartedly contributed, “@BBCBreakfast As you’re covering jokes today—My dog was doing so well in the Tour de France til the Chien came off.”
Some viewers were particularly critical of the timing of the segment, with one saying, “Seriously! Farmers protested yesterday and no mention of it but make a thing about a couple of bad jokes on BBC at its best.”
Another spectator added, “Jokes are normally only read out when the Edinburgh festival is on. Now they’re used anytime as filler for this joke of a program. #bbcbreakfast.”
Despite the backlash, the show did feature other more serious discussions later in the program. Jon and Sally spoke with MPs Kim Leadbeater and Sarah Olney, touching on important political issues, and welcomed Dr Rebecca Foljambe, a GP and founder of Health Professionals for Safer Screens. They also heard from speech and language consultant Nicky West and featured a segment on the importance of CPR training.
While the lighter segment fell flat for some, others appreciated the variety of content presented, showcasing the diverse approach BBC Breakfast often takes to address both current events and lighthearted moments.
