BBC newsreader Simon McCoy despairs at pawsitively terrible autocue puns

Reporting on the Scottish Parliament Dog of the Year contest, the 57-year-old felt some of the dog puns were a little too ruff for broadcast.

Seemingly shocked at the way the segment had been written, McCoy asked one camera to film the autocue to show the audience “what I have to deal with.”

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“I just want to show you what I have to read right now," he said. "I'm going to show you what's on camera two."

The camera then turned to reveal the newsreader's autocue.

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“Fur one day only, Holyrood has gone to the dogs for the Scottish Parliament’s Dog of the year contest,” it read.

He continued reading, “Here are the competitors, battling it out to become top dog,” before adding, “Well that is a familiar phrase.”

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McCoy continued, “In a pawsitively tough field, the Scotty dogs had to take on a number of obstacles outside the Scottish Parliament – some faring a bit better than others.

“The competitive field was whittled down to the top three, with Sadie and her owner Jeremy Balfour claiming the prize."

The story ended, “A ruff day for everyone else.”

At this point, McCoy hung his head in hands and muttered, “I trained for this.”

McCoy is famous for his open derision on-air, going viral in 2013 for reporting on the birth of Prince George – a feat he repeated in 2017 with his thoroughly unenthusiastic reporting of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge’s announcement that they were expecting a third child.

“I don’t know how much news this really is, but anyway, clear your diaries,” he deadpanned at the time.