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Krishnan Guru-Murthy brought Channel 4’s evening news coverage to an abrupt end when he was unable to leave the studio fast enough.
The broadcaster, 56, who is Channel 4’s second-longest-serving presenter, just behind Jon Snow, has been working for the broadcaster since 1998.
He leads the news coverage and has reported on numerous major events, including elections, the Olympics, and foreign affairs.
On Wednesday night, the host baffled viewers at home with his swift exit, which was a stark contrast to the typically professional, composed manner in which he would normally sign off.
‘That’s it for this evening. We’re back at 7 tomorrow night,’ he rushed.
‘Until then, gotta go – bye!’, Krishnan smirked, ripping off his microphone, tearing out his earpiece, and walking at speed off camera as the closing music played.
‘When you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go,’ @jonoread wrote on X, sharing the amusing clip.
The user did then reveal why Krishnan was eager to make it out the door, though – and we can’t say we blame him.
‘(To be fair he was rushing off for the football…!)’, he added, with @joshuanesbit replying: ‘Valid’.
Indeed, Wednesday night marked England’s nail-biting semi-final World Cup game against Argentina.
Alas, it’s somewhat of a sore subject now, as Thomas Tuchel’s squad was beaten, bringing their dreams of tournament glory to a crushing end.
The head-to-head in Atlanta, which drew the whole Beckham clan to the stadium (minus Brooklyn, of course), plus celebs like Louis Tomlinson, started strong for the Three Lions.
England had an exciting 1-0 lead, but this became a sour 2-1 defeat, after which the manager hit back at claims that his decisions were to blame.
He cited a weakness in English football ‘DNA’ as the reason for the loss, meaning players can struggle to keep possession of the ball under pressure.
‘In this moment, my feeling was no structure in the world could have helped us,’ Tuchel said.
The German pro added that the team failed to get ‘momentum’ back.
Do you think England will beat France on Saturday?
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Yes
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No
‘I think ball possession plays a crucial role; it’s maybe not in our DNA like it is in our Spanish DNA or in our Argentinian-Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game with the ball.’
So, no, football isn’t coming home, but England may still secure a place on the podium if they triumph against France in Saturday’s bronze medal match.
It’s been a dramatic month for football, and one that’s provided plenty of memorable broadcasting and showbiz moments, from Victoria Beckham’s seemingly bored facial expressions in the quarter-final to Emma Hayes hitting back at trolls who accused ITV of ‘sexism’ with her set.
We also had a surprise appearance from Gary Lineker, who made a dig at the BBC following his Match of the Day departure, and pundit Alexi Lalas stunned his co-hosts by calling James Corden a ‘full kit w***er’.
A peak audience of 24million watched as Argentina knocked out England earlier this week, making it the most-watched live television moment of the year across all broadcasters.
It was also the biggest live TV audience for a broadcaster since the Euro 2020 final between Italy and England.
The numbers are likely to be high again on Sunday, as Argentina faces Spain in the big final at New York New Jersey Stadium, kicking off at 8pm BST after a closing ceremony at 6.30pm BST.
And in a stray from tradition, the World Cup final’s halftime slot will be extended to 25 minutes to make way for a Super Bowl-style performance.
Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber, and BTS will co-headline the historic set, which has been curated by Chris Martin of Coldplay.
The halftime show will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative aiming to raise $100m (£74.3m) to provide children with better access to education and football opportunities.