Simon McCoy’s best moments as veteran newsreader to leave BBC and join GB News

People are sharing their favourite Simon McCoy clips on social media after the veteran newsreader revealed he would be stepping down from BBC News after nearly 18 years and joining new channel GB News.

The presenter has become known in recent years for his idiosyncratic and often brutally honest takes on the day’s events and his habit of breaking into laughter live on air.

McCoy confirmed his departure from the Beeb on Thursday morning by responding to a post from one of his colleagues:

Later, in a turn of events which surprised some, Andrew Neil’s GB News tweeted to announce that McCoy would be joining the channel to host an afternoon programme.

The announcement soon sparked an outpouring of love for the broadcaster, who has consistently managed to brighten up a frankly dire few years of news.

From corpsing on camera to forgetting his cues, here are some of our favourite moments from the TV legend:

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His general disinterest in the Royal Family

One of the reasons why McCoy is so beloved as a broadcaster is he has never pretended to care about news on the Royal Family.

He wasn’t impressed by updates on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s baby, or Pippa Middleton’s baby, or the cancellation of the Queen’s garden parties… much to the delight of some viewers:

When he had to report on the World Dog Surfing Championships

Most newsreaders are able to hide their true feelings about the news stories they report on but McCoy has never been particularly good at hiding his disappointment at the more trivial stories he’s had to cover.

And when he was forced to report on the World Dog Surfing Championships, his despair was clear to everyone...

When he ended up on the wrong side of the studio

McCoy’s nonchalant approach to the news has sometimes got him into trouble - like when he somehow managed to end up on the wrong side of the BBC News studio for the channel’s 4pm broadcast.

It’s unclear exactly who was at fault for the mishap but the scene of the camera staring at an empty chair before sheepishly panning over to McCoy on the other side of the room was TV gold...

His deadpan response to Boris Johnson building model buses

When Boris Johnson revealed that he likes to paint model buses during his spare time, McCoy offered a dry response which quickly went viral on social media.

No prizes for guessing which famous bus he was referring to…

When he couldn’t stop laughing during a segment on ‘goat yoga’

Even seasoned professionals sometimes find it hard to keep it together on camera, as McCoy showed during a segment all about goats in 2019:

When he appeared on air carrying a stack of paper

In a blunder that left viewers baffled, McCoy opened one of his news reports carrying a stack of photocopier paper after mistaking it for an iPad.

Instead of acknowledging the mistake, the broadcaster decided to improvise and continue the report as if nothing had happened - creating another classic TV moment:

His recap of the ‘highlights’ of 2020

2020 was by all accounts a bad year for everyone so McCoy didn’t have to do much work to put together a highlights reel from the year.

You can find his ‘best’ moments from 2020 below: