Sorry for that little interruption ... how expert was upstaged on BBC
IT IS the moment all working parents dread: being at home on an important call, only to be interrupted by curious children who want to join in.
One professor has seen that fear realised in spectacular fashion, after his two children stole the show during a live television interview yesterday.
Prof Robert Kelly, an expert on Korean politics, was appearing on BBC World to discuss the serious issue of the impeachment of South Korea’s president Park Geun-hye.
But his learned discussion on the 11am bulletin was interrupted by his young daughter, who burst into his study, swiftly followed by her brother in a baby walker and, finally, their harrassed mother.
Prof Kelly became an internet sensation after a BBC producer published the video on Twitter with the caption: “When the kids interrupt you in the middle of live TV... A lovely moment and masterfully handled by our guest this morning on South Korea.”
Prof Kelly did not appear to embrace his newfound fame, immediately asking whether the footage was likely to go “viral” and “get weird”.
Working parents around the world offered their sympathies, praising him for keeping his cool as pandemonium unfolded around him.
Prof Kelly works for Pusan National University and is a regular contributor to broadcast and print news on the topic of US policy in South Korea.
Living in Busan with his wife, Kim Jung-a, he has two children named as Marion, three, and baby James on the family’s open social media pages.
Prof Kelly was talking to presenter James Menendez about President Park being ousted from power when his elder daughter, wearing a yellow jumper and pink glasses, marched into the room behind him.
Chewing what appeared to be a pen, she attempted to stand next to her father at his desk, as he continued to stare intently at the computer camera broadcasting directly to the BBC. After a few moments trying to ignore her, he pushed her away with a firm arm – not taking his eyes off the camera – and she cheerfully settled down on the bed, unwittingly knocking over books arranged carefully on top of it.
As Prof Kelly pressed on, her little brother then propelled himself through the open door in a baby walker, arms flailing, to join his sister.
A second later, a woman skids into view at the doorway, sliding over the wooden floor in her socks in desperation to reach the errant children.
Presumed to be Prof Kelly’s wife, a yoga teacher, she crouches low on the floor in a failed attempt to avoid the camera, and grasps both children firmly by their arms and steers them back to where they belong.
In an excruciating few seconds, she is seen manoeuvring them out of the door and closing it behind them, as viewers heard the wails of a disappointed toddler echoing down the corridor.
Shutting his eye in despair, Prof Kelly told the BBC: “My apologies. Sorry.” He was immediately reassured by internet users. “This is one of the best live TV moments of all time,” said one.
His mother, Ellen Kelly from Ohio, said the children may have thought they were Skyping their grandparents. She said the children “probably heard voices coming from the computer and assumed it was us”, disclosing her son had initially been “a little disturbed” and “probably just embarrassed”.
Prof Kelly’s only response to the online furore yesterday was a short message thanking a Twitter follower who wrote: “It is worth noting @Robert_E_ Kelly is a damn good Korea analyst.”
A BBC spokesman said: “We’re really grateful to Prof Kelly for his professionalism. This just goes to show that live broadcasting isn’t always child’s play.”
‘When the kids interrupt you in the middle of live TV... masterfully handled by our guest this morning’