Some BBC viewers were left doing a double take while tuning into the Olympics after believing Clare Balding might have made an X-rated gaffe.
The veteran sports broadcaster is currently in Paris presenting her seventh Olympic Games for the national broadcaster, leading the coverage for the three-week international sporting event.
Clare, 53, has been fronting the swimming events from La Defense Arena over the past few days, but has also been keeping viewers updated on the results of other sporting results.
Follow Metro.co.uk’s live blog for updates from the Paris 2024 Olympics
On Monday evening, the presenter introduced a feature on Team GB star Tom Pidcock, who won a gold medal in the men’s cross-country mountain biking.
After suffering a puncture in his front wheel, the athlete managed to pull off an astonishing comeback, overtaking French rival Victor Koretzky in the closing stages before sprinting home with a nine-second advantage.
However, when Clare referenced the cyclist live on air, some jaws dropped after thinking she said ‘Big’ rather than ‘Pid’ when saying his surname.
Sharing the clip on social media, Robbie wrote: ‘Has someone been messing with the autocue? I swear Clare Balding just called Tom Pidcock…Tom Bigc***.’
‘Pretty sure Claire Balding just called Tom Pidcock something entirely different then,’ Alwyn commented.
‘DID CLARE BALDING JUST SAY TOM BIGC***?’ another posted.
Others simply wrote ‘oops’ however user Bobbie said she’d just ‘replayed it three times’.
However, Clare hasn’t commented on the speculation about the potential slip-up.
In 2021 the presenter also left viewers in stitches during the Tokyo Olympics after dropping a hilarious innuendo gaffe.
When interviewing Team GB swimmers Tom Dean and Matt Richards after their triumph in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, Clare praised the latter’s ‘incredible third leg’.
Clearly noticing the innuendo – with third leg a slang term for male genitalia – both men struggled to hold it together as they smirked and held in their giggles.
However, many others were able to display as much self-control, with memes and reactions lighting up on social media.
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Sharing the clip to Instagram, Kate Beckinsale declared: ‘Rarely have I felt prouder to be British or more invested in the Olympics.’