BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker was left red-faced on Wednesday after he made a significant faux pas with a famous guest – but it's easily done! The presenter was speaking to Gavin & Stacey star Alison Steadman about a charity quiz she's hosting on Thursday evening to benefit Marie Curie, and blurted out: "Are you doing the quiz as Pam [her character] or Angela?" The legendary actress seemed startled for a second, before laughing and saying, "Um, Alison." A clearly embarrassed Dan responded, "Oh, sorry Alison, I don't know where Angela came from, apologies Alison."
WATCH: BBC Breakfast's Dan Walker apologises after guest blunder
Laughing and moving on, the Olivier Award winner said: "I'll be doing it as me but I may just slip into Pam now and again… I'd find it a bit stressful to do the whole quiz as Pam." After the show went off air, Dan took to Twitter to emphasise that he does in fact know the beloved actress' name. He tweeted in response to a message about the incident, writing: "No idea what happened there. Thankfully the lovely ALISON Steadman dealt with my buffoonery with pure class #TeamPam."
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Dan paid tribute to Alison's down-to-earth attitude on Twitter
The 43-year-old's followers also had a good sense of humour about it, with one teasing: "I bet Lisa Minchin laughed [crying laughing emojis] #YesIKnowItsLouise." Another fan admitted that they had made a very similar mistake, replying: "Tbf I walked in the room while Alison was on and thought 'oh look it’s Angela Rippon'." A third, meanwhile, commented on the star's classy response, and wrote: "Wasn’t she just lovely about it, everyone makes funny errors..."
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This isn't the only work-related mistake Dan has made recently. Less than a month ago, the dad-of-three admitted that he had put his foot in it by texting his co-star Louise Minchin at 3.30am, depriving her of a crucial ten extra minutes of sleep. Dan, 43, shared a screenshot of their text exchange on Twitter, which began with Dan asking Louise if she had received any briefs for that morning's show. She responded: "I don't wake up until 3:40!!" Her co-host was quick to issue an apology, replying: "I imagine it's too late to say 'sorry'. Sorry. See you later."
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