With a fairly risqué joke, Naga Munchetty had Have I Got News For You viewers and panellists sputtering.
The 48-year-old BBC Breakfast broadcaster presented the event on Friday night, with guests Richard Osman and Maisie Adam joining team leaders Paul Merton and Ian Hislop.
Naga added the ‘Odd One Out’ round, in which four photographs are exhibited, and the teams must determine which one is, well, the anomaly.
Australia, Mo Salah, an iceberg, and King Charles’ curtains were this week’s four.
Buzzing in, Paul explained that the iceberg was ‘the big iceberg that has floated away from all the other ice.’
‘Is it five times the size of Britain, or something like that?’, he asked.
‘What?’, exclaimed comedian Maisie, stunned that an iceberg could be so huge.
Clarifying, Naga replied: ‘It’s twice the size of Greater London.’
The audience erupted in amusement at Paul’s gaffe, but let’s be honest: that’s only the tip of the iceberg!
‘Are there other parts of Britain?’, he quipped.
‘You can only say that in front of a London audience, I wouldn’t say it in Sheffield.’
Naga then delivered a fantastic dig that absolutely put Paul in his place.
‘It’s so unlike a man to exaggerate size, isn’t it?’, she said sarcastically.
Maisie spluttered as the audience laughed and cheered her remark.
Hitting back, Paul said: ‘Well, to compare something to twice the size of Greater London, yes it’s quite rare.’
‘And don’t forget, 90% of it is underwater,’ former Pointless star Richard chimed in.
This isn’t the first time Naga’s TV appearances have generated controversy.
In September, the broadcaster responded to a troll who called her clothing “sleazy.”
After presenting in a silk gown, Naga was full of sass after a spectator commented that she looked like she’d just stepped out of a nightclub.
She wrote back: ‘Sssssh… don’t tell anyone. (btw – it’s called a dress).’
The renowned BBC figure once lost it after viewing a comical pigeon film live on air, but she has also had many heartbreaking moments, such as when she wept over George Alagiah’s death.
.@TVNaga01 doing #HIGNFY! I love Naga!
— Kate Waugh (@katewaugh) December 8, 2023
It’s rather fabulous to see Naga hosting … and laughing. 🥰 #HIGNFY
— Rob Jones (@DuncanUK45) December 8, 2023
Naga Munchetty needs to host Have I Got News For You every week. #HIGNFY
— Phil Bowers (@PhilJBowers) December 8, 2023
HIGNFY audience praised Naga’s performance tonight, urging her to become a more frequent presenter.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, user Phil Bowers declared: ‘Naga Munchetty needs to host Have I Got News For You every week.’
Rob Jones agreed: ‘Loving having Naga back on #HIGNFY’.
Others hailed her ‘a class act’ and said it was ‘fabulous’ to see her as the presenter.
Have I Got News For You? airs Fridays on BBC One and iPlayer.
