Good Morning Britain was forced to stop its following report after a panda tried to “make an escape” from its enclosure live on-air.
Hosts Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway were presenting Thursday’s edition of the ITV programme (November 30), before cutting to lead anchor Ranvir Singh for some news in brief. One of the stories mentioned included the return of two giant pandas from Edinburgh Zoo to China.
The bears – named Xianxian and Yuanguang – were loaned from the Chinese government to the zoo back in 2011 in an attempt to help them breed. However, the pair of animals never seemed to hit it off, with breeding in captivity renowned for its difficulty.
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As a result, the pair of bears themselves became stars of the zoo, with people flying across the country to catch a glimpse of the astonishing creatures. However, after twelve years in the UK, the pandas are now set to return to China as the loan expires on Thursday.
(Image: ITV)
Reporting live from Edinburgh Zoo, reporter Juliet explained the terms of the agreement between the two countries, and added that the animals were being prepared to be shipped back to their homeland. As her brief report came to an end, host Ranvir quipped: “Thanks Ron Burgundy – if you know, you know!”
As the camera cut back to the studio, Juliet was quick to signal back to producers to show her feed as one of the pandas, Yuanguang, had emerged from his enclosure. Hosts Ben, Kate and Ranvir were left in awe as they saw the huge animal clamber around outside his home.
(Image: ITV)
“A panda’s just popped out!” Ben exclaimed, as Ranvir and Kate begged the cameraman to zoom in on the animal and adjust the focus. When the image was made clearer, the hosts awwed as they could not believe the images they were watching.
Juliet explained the differences between the two bears, discerning the animal being shown was Yuanguang. “He is the much friendlier of the two bears and he is a bit of a crowd pleaser,” she remarked.
(Image: ITV)
“He loves to come out, stroll around and delight the public. Xianxian is next door, she’s much more camera shy and so far, no sign of her.”
Whilst Juliet extended her report, Ranvir watched on in amazement as the bear played around. However, things got a bit hairy when Yuanguang started charging up the hill towards where the journalist was standing.
“Oooh, hello. He’s making an escape! He doesn’t want to leave!” Ranvir quipped as the hosts watched the bear running, before giving up half way and going back down. As the animal went down the hill again, Singh joked: “You know, we’ve literally morphed into Anchorman, that is magnificent.”
Good Morning Britain airs every weekday at 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
