It wasn’t your average Monday morning news show on BBC Breakfast when a weather segment co-starring a Labrador went a little off the leash. A clip from that unplanned conclusion later went viral, proving once again that live animals and news reports don’t always mix.
For Carol Kirkwood’s weather report, she held onto the end of a guide dog named Flash’s leash while on camera. Flash accompanied Kirkwood to the Royal Horticultural Society in Chelsea that day as a representative of the Guide Dogs organization, where she is a trainee. The RHS recently dedicated a special garden featuring a sculpture of a person standing with a dog.
BBC Breakfast shared a video of the blooper to their Twitter account, captioning the footage:
“@carolkirkwood down! Flash the guide dog is running the show on #BBCBreakfast this morning.”
“Flash Is Strong”
The clip shared on social media begins right as Flash starts to wander away. Still holding onto Flash’s leash, Kirkwood gets pulled forward with the dog. All you can see from her feed is her legs and feet as she tumbles over on camera.
Co-host Dan Walker, uncontrollably giggling, exclaims:
“We’ve got a Kirkwood down, someone save Carol!”
Fortunately, it doesn’t take Kirkwood too long to get back up again. As she puts her earpiece back in, the weather reporter notes with a grin:
“She’s a very strong girl, Flash.”
Kirkwood, a great sport, laughs the entire time, never faulting the eager Flash for accidentally taking her down. The funniest part is the fact that moments before Flash dragged her forward, Kirkwood was singing the dog’s praises.
Kirkwood previously described Flash as “a friend of the program,” adding:
“She was actually on the program on the 28th April with her trainer, Mel, and she took a little bit of a nibble out of Mel’s hand when she was only 18 weeks old. She’s grown a bit since then and she’s very well behaved I must say as well, and just gorgeous.”
🛑 @carolkirkwood down!
Flash the guide dog is running the show on #BBCBreakfast this morning 🐾 https://t.co/g98lIxe3Fa pic.twitter.com/6ym3obw6Tz
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) September 20, 2021
A Good Sport And A Good Pup
Initially a bit startled to see a weather presenter tumble during a live report, fans took to the comments to praise Kirkwood for her great attitude.
“Forever the Professional... Pleased you were ok Carol and took it all in good sport. What do you expect from a dog named FLASH!!”– @dazzlecarol via Twitter
“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer person. Sorry and well done for being such a good sport!” – @AbyVee1 via Twitter
Guide Dogs also apologized on Flash’s behalf. But Kirkwood was never mad and praised Flash and the other dogs trained through this organization. Flash is still young, and dogs usually train for around 20 months to officially become guide dogs. The Guide Dogs organization jokingly tweeted:
“Only to be expected that [Kirkwood] fell “head over heels” for our amazing trainee guide dog pup.”
Learn more about the Guide Dogs organization here.
H/T: Daily Mail
Featured Image: BBC Breakfast, Twitter
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