Gary Lineker addresses pearl-clutching ‘porn’ prank after BBC issues apology
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He managed to hold it together as the prank unfolded, but Gary Lineker now says he knew exactly what the ‘porn noises’ were as they were broadcast around the nation.
On Tuesday night, BBC One’s live coverage of the Wolves vs Liverpool game was bizarrely interrupted by some intimate-sounding audio blaring on air during the start of their broadcast.
The groans kicked in just as Gary introduced the FA Cup third-round replay from Molineux, and continued to interrupt him over the next 15 minutes as he attempted to discuss pre-match matters with Alan Shearer, Paul Ince and Danny Murphy.
While he appeared red-faced and confused at the time, he’s now revealed he knew exactly what was going down.
Appearing on Newsnight after the game, the former footballer joked: ‘If you’d told me this morning I’d be on Newsnight talking about a porn scandal, I’d have been terrified. Thankfully it was just something that happened in the studio.’
He went on to admit that it didn’t take him too long to figure out where the sounds might be coming from.
‘When it started I did recognise that sound, I think we’ve all been done with that when you open up a Whatsapp or something, or somebody has sent it to you as a trick on the train or when you’re busy in people’s company,’ he said.
‘It was quite difficult to cope with the pre-match build up and I thought maybe it had gone to one of the pundits’ phones, but then I thought no, it’s too loud. Then we obviously worked out it was a prank.
‘It was so loud I couldn’t hear anything from Danny Murphy or Paul Ince, or even when I spoke to Alan Shearer. We had like five minutes more to go, is it going to stop? Every time we went to a VT it stopped, so then I thought it was being done by somebody watching the TV and waiting until we come on.’
Once they found the source of the naughty prank, Gary tweeted a photo of a mobile phone which had been hidden in the studio.
‘Well, we found this taped to the back of the set. As sabotage goes it was quite amusing,’ he wrote.
During the broadcast Gary was the consummate professional, trying not to laugh as he pushed through presenting.
‘I don’t know who is making that noise but Alan Shearer is on the commentary gantry,’ he said.
‘It’s toasty in this studio, it is a bit noisy as well.’
The BBC later issued an official apology, with a short statement reading: ‘We apologise to any viewers offended during the live coverage of the football this evening. We are investigating how this happened.’
Comedian and prankster Daniel Jarvis has also admitted he was behind the stunt, sharing a video of it being carried out.
The prankster, who goes by Jarvo, was banned from sporting events for two years in October 2022 after he ran onto the pitch during a Test match between England and India at the Oval, barging into Jonny Bairstow in the process.
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