Journalist Ben Thompson, 41, was in the middle of reading the news headlines during a live studio recording when he was forced to stop midway and address the audience.
“I’m not sure quite how I tell you this next story because I hate snakes,” Thompson said, before lifting a pile of notes above his face to block his view of the animal.
Watch the footage in the video above.
Detailing the capture of a massive python in Florida – the biggest ever seen in the US state – Thompson could hardly contain his discomfort, explaining he’d have to continue reading the story with his view obstructed.
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“I’m going to have to do it like this,” he said.
Valiantly pushing on, Thompson reads out the entire story to audiences with his head bowed, before finally asking producers: “Is it gone yet?”
People from the UK and all over the world quickly took to social media platforms like Twitter to defend the presenter’s decision, with many claiming they’d do the same.
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