15 Times BBC News' Simon McCoy Injected Some Much-Needed Humour Into The Headlines

We all know that the news can make for pretty depressing viewing at the best of times, but one person who we can always rely on to bring a smile to our faces when he’s reading out the day’s headlines is BBC News’ Simon McCoy.

The broadcaster, who has just announced that he is leaving the channel after 18 years, has earned a cult following thanks to his often wry take on world events, which have been known to end up making the news themselves.

So as we bid farewell to the presenter, we’re looking back on all the other times he injected some much-needed humour into his bulletins...

1. He had the perfect way of seeing out the hellscape of a year that was 2020 live on air

2. When he reacted to the news the Queen had cancelled her garden parties in light of the latest Covid-19 restrictions

3. When he couldn’t hide his disdain for a news item about a surfing dog

4. However, he was a lot more enthusiastic about goat yoga

5. This item about a polar bear had him similarly tickled

6. See also: When he struggled to get through this report about a man who plays the piano to monkeys with a straight face

7. Despite being a former royal correspondent, Simon doesn’t seem to be especially fond of them, and didn’t look thrilled when he was despatched to stand outside the Lido Wing to report on the royal baby’s arrival

8. Which might explain why he had this reaction when the Duchess Of Cambridge shared her due date during a later pregnancy

9. The birth of Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton’s child also had him bemused

10. When he had a savage dig at an American family’s Covid-friendly solution to trick-or-treating

11. When he managed to slip in this incredible pun that you probably didn’t notice into a story about an out-of-control metro train

12. When he was caught having a sleepy moment after the cameras cut to him unexpectedly

13. And similarly, when the cameras caught him taking a stroll across the news studio

14. When he couldn’t suppress his giggles after making some unfortunate weather-based innuendos

15. And lastly, who could forget the time he held a ream of printer paper like a iPad?

A bonus entry: Not an on-air moment, but we couldn’t not include the time we went to Ibiza with former BBC News colleague Carrie Gracie