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sally nugent jon kay sitting red sofa bbc breakfast© BBC

BBC Breakfast's Jon Kay leaves Sally Nugent unimpressed with awkward Strictly blunder

The BBC Breakfast duo were chatting about Strictly Come Dancing star Les Dennis

Sharnaz Shahid
Deputy Online Editor
Updated: October 2, 2023
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BBC Breakfast host Jon Kay made an awkward blunder on Monday morning's show, which saw him get corrected by his colleague Sally Nugent

Chatting about the first Strictly Come Dancing exit, the journalist accidentally referred to Les Dennis as "Len" – watch the funny moment in the clip below and see Sally's unimpressed reaction. 

WATCH: BBC Breakfast’s Jon Kay gets corrected by Sally Nugent

"If you haven't watched last night's Strictly Come Dancing yet, here's a spoiler," Jon warned viewers. "We're going to tell you who was kicked out. So just close your ears and eyes for a couple of seconds." 

To which, Sally said: "It was Les Dennis who was the first to be voted out of this year's competition. This was his Samba with his partner Nancy Xu. It failed to get him through the first round of eliminations. I honestly thought he would be in it for a while." 

Talking about the standard being so high in this series, Jon added: "Some of them are too good. They're going to be like the professionals by week five…. At least Len can have his Saturday night's at home now." 

Sally Nugent and Jon Kay smiling in BBC Breakfast studio© BBC
Sally Nugent and Jon Kay tend to present BBC Breakfast together

Noticing his mistake, Sally corrected him and quipped: "Les." Laughing light-heartedly, Jon remarked: "Yes, I have got Lenny in my ear." 

The line-up of BBC Breakfast presenters

Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty on BBC Breakfast© BBC
  1. Charlie Stayt

    The journalist joined BBC Breakfast back in 2006 and now hosts the show alongside Naga Munchetty from Thursday to Saturday. Prior to joining the BBC, Charlie was the principal anchor of Five News, fronting the programme's 9/11 coverage and Millennium celebrations.
  2. Naga Munchetty

    The presenter joined the line-up of main presenters in 2014. Before landing a role on BBC Breakfast, she appeared on BBC World News, as well as BBC Two's weekday financial affairs programme, Working Lunch.
  3. Sally Nugent

    Sally has been a main presenter on the show since 2021, replacing Louise Minchin following her departure after 20 years. Sally previously worked as a sports presenter on the show and covered various major sporting events for the BBC, including Emma Raducanu's historic victory in the US Open tennis championship in 2021.
  4. Jon Kay

    The newsreader and journalist took over from Dan Walker following his exit in 2022. He previously worked as a news correspondent for BBC News at Six and covered major events such as the 2012 London Olympics and the 2015 general election campaign.
  5. Carol Kirkwood

    Carol is the show's main weather presenter and has been waking up the nation with the weather forecast on the BBC for 30 years.
  6. Nina Warhurst

    Nina is the show's main business presenter, having taken over from Steph McGovern in 2020. She often fills in as an anchor on the red sofa when the main hosts are absent.
  7.  Ben Thompson

    Ben is a relief presenter and regularly stands in for the main hosts when they are away from the red sofa. He can also be seen on BBC News.
  8. John Watson

    John is a sports presenter and has been working for the BBC since 2012, providing viewers will all the latest sports news and stories.

Sunday night's dance-off saw Les and dancer partner Nancy Xu in the bottom two with BBC presenter Nikita Kanda and Gorka Marquez. When asked by co-host Tess Daly about his time on the show, Les sweetly replied: "I've had the best time, this lady has been amazing, a great teacher, she’s really put me through my paces. I did as well as I could for you, I hope! 

Nancy Xu and Les Dennis dancing a samba© Guy Levy
Nancy Xu and Les Dennis were the first couple to be voted off Strictly this year

"That lot [his fellow contestants] up there, I'm going to miss you so much. I really appreciate and understand the judge's point of view, thank you so much for giving me a 10 for entertainment. I hope I've entertained, that's what I came here for. Strictly is the best and the people who put this on, you're just all amazing!" 

Nancy added: "It's been a journey. This is such a short but a sweet journey. A lot of challenges we all know, but to see you (to Les) every day improve yourself. I respect you so, so much. I just want to say thank you to the judges and all my fellow friends. Thank you Strictly Come Dancing for all of your support. Thank you Les."

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