
Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu is receiving considerable acclaim for how she handled a scenario on Jeremy Vine on 5 when the host failed to pronounce her name correctly.
Initially, the presenter in question, Dawn Neesom, attempted and failed to speak her guest’s entire name, in a scene reminiscent to Dr Shola’s conversation with Kate Garraway on Good Morning Britain in 2022.
The lawyer and activist, however, put a halt to Dawn’s attempt, refusing to continue the interview unless the journalist spoke her name correctly while spelling it out phonetically.
Dawn, 58, said to the camera in a video that’s gone viral: ‘Thrilled to be joined by lawyer Dr Shola…’ and tried to say her guest’s surname before faltering.
‘How do I pronounce your name Shola?’ she asked, to which Dr Shola replied: ‘Read it, my darling. Read it.’
Dawn unsuccessfully tried to do so, prompting the political commentator to reply: ‘Ok, so this is terrible.’
Auntie Shola said we're not moving on until you pronounce my name right. pic.twitter.com/6r0bvmNbh4
— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) May 10, 2023
‘I know it’s terrible!’ the host acknowledged, as Dr Shola encouraged her once again to read her surname phonetically.
Dawn’s (many) attempts were thwarted when the activist pointed out that she had overlooked the letter ‘B’.
The Jeremy Vine on 5 presenter then attempted to move on, saying, ‘Shola! Welcome to the show.’
Rightfully, Dr Shola wasn’t having it, stating emphatically: ‘No, you will say my name. Now read it phonetically.’
Dawn finally stated Dr. Shola’s entire name slowly before her visitor showed the right pronunciation.
‘There you go! Great accent,’ Dawn remarked in the clip doing the rounds online.
Several Twitter users voiced their surprise at Dawn’s ‘foolishness,’ pointing out that she should have made sure she understood how to pronounce Dr Shola’s name before the episode aired.
‘She could have literally looked up the pronunciation before the programme instead of this on-air foolishness,’ one person tweeted.
‘Imagine inviting a guest on to your show and not taking even a few minutes of prep time to learn the pronunciation of their name,’ another wrote.

Someone else said that it was ‘basic good manners’ to know how to pronounce a guest’s name, adding: ‘Good for Dr Shola for standing her ground.’
‘Well done. People should do this more often. Nothing wrong with getting people to pronounce your name correctly,’ another individual added.
Dawn subsequently commented to the video on Twitter, stating she had the’most fun with the best panel this morning’.
‘That’s what three hours sleep does for you🤪,’ she tweeted.
‘Thanks to @thecarolemalone @SholaMos1 for being such great sports & to all the excellent callers today 🙏.’
This isn’t the first time Dr. Shola has had her name mispronounced on live television; in January 2022, she requested Good Morning Britain’s Kate to repeat her name phonetically when the presenter tripped.
‘Dr Shola – you say your surname, ‘cause I’m useless this morning,’ Kate said at the time, to which Dr Shola replied: ‘Ok so read it phonetically. I’m not going to let you get away with that. Read it phonetically, pronounce it as you see it.’
Jeremy Vine on 5 airs weekdays rfrom 9.15am to 12.45pm on Channel 5.