Shaun Ley had to bring a live broadcast to a halt as he struggled to suppress a sneeze while reading the news.
The 52-year-old BBC News presenter is no stranger to having problems with sneezing live on air and on Tuesday afternoon, he was once again struck by a tickly nose.
While he is usually the weekday evening news presenter, on Tuesday he appeared on our screens to host the afternoon news as news was breaking from Downing Street amid the 'Partygate' investigations.
With news that Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak had both been fined for breaching Covid-19 restrictions, rules that they themselves had introduced.
Shaun was bringing the news to the nation of the fines which had been issued by the Metropolitan Police when he had the feeling he was going to sneeze.
While the experienced presenter thought he could ride it out, the possibility the he was going to cut loose with a sneeze live on air became too much of a realistic proposition.
As he reported about the controversy in Downing Street, Shaun was about to quote Liberal Democrats MP Ed Davies.
He then had to bring a halt to the broadcast as he battle to suppress the sneeze appeared to be in vain, telling viewers: "Excuse me, I’m about to sneeze."
Taking a deep breath and holding his hand to his mouth, Shaun paused for a number of seconds as viewers waited with bated breath for him to let it go.
But sneeze fans were left disappointed as Shaun finally removes his hands from his mouth and looks sheepishly at the camera after the feeling subsided.
He told viewers: "I think I’ve got away with it."
The moment was then posted on Twitter, with one viewer describing it as "the most British thing I have ever seen."
As the video went viral on social media, other Twitter users pointed out that Shaun is no stranger to apologising to viewers for sneezing, suddenly mid-sentence.
He has often seemed as surprised as the viewers watching when he has the need to sneeze and it is not the only time his actions have gone viral.
Last summer, on the hottest day of the year, Shaun was seen presenting in suit jacket, shirt and tie until the camera panned out at the end of the bulletin.
At that point, viewers were delighted to see that he was also wearing shorts and deck shoes as the temperatures soared.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct 0207 29 33033.
