Laura Kuenssberg's BBC One interview with Boris Johnson – which had been scheduled for 7:30pm tonight – has been scrapped after the presenter admitted to an "embarrassing" error.

Advertisement

The political journalist had been set to grill the former Prime Minister about his time at 10 Downing Street, with topics expected to be covered including Brexit and his handling of the COVID pandemic.

But writing on X (formerly Twitter), Kuenssberg revealed that it would not be going ahead following a major gaffe.

"While prepping to interview Boris Johnson tomorrow, by mistake I sent our briefing notes to him in a message meant for my team," she wrote.

"That obviously means it’s not right for the interview to go ahead. It’s very frustrating, and there’s no point pretending it’s anything other than embarrassing and disappointing, as there are plenty of important questions to be asked."

She added: "But red faces aside, honesty is the best policy."

Boris Johnson in a suit and blue tie
Boris Johnson. Isabel Infantes/AFP via Getty Images

Kuenssberg's announcement was met with a flurry of other journalists offering to step in and do the interview in her place, with Alastair Campbell and Channel 4 News presenters Cathy Newman and Krishnan Guru-Murthy among those saying they would be happy to stand in.

Meanwhile, several social media users questioned why the BBC could not find another journalist to do the interview instead.

Boris Johnson: The Laura Kuenssberg Interview had originally been added to the schedule last month, with an episode of EastEnders dropped to make way.

BBC One has now confirmed that the soap will air as normal at 7:30pm tonight.

Advertisement

Visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Authors

Patrick Cremona, RadioTimes.com's senior film writer looking at the camera and smiling
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement