Charlie Stayt, Naga Munchetty© BBC

BBC Breakfast's Naga Munchetty in disbelief over co-star's surprising revelation

Ben Boulos joined Naga and Charlie Stayt in the studio on Friday

TV and film writer
August 16, 2024

Naga Munchetty was in disbelief after her co-star Ben Boulos made a surprising revelation about his childhood on Friday's edition of BBC Breakfast.

Ben, who is a business presenter, was reporting on the decline of teenagers working in Saturday jobs over the past 20 years when Naga asked him what job he had when he was younger. 

Ben Boulos© BBC
Ben Boulos reported on the decline of teenagers with Saturday jobs

"I didn't have one," revealed Ben, before going on to list some of the interesting jobs famous people had as teenagers, such as Jeff Bezos, who flipped burgers at McDonalds when he was 16. 

Surprised at Ben's confession, Naga said: "I can't believe you didn't have one! How lucky."

"Last year you didn't need a job, hey?" she joked, prompting laughter from Ben and her co-host Charlie Stayt. 

WATCH: BBC Breakfast's Naga Munchetty in disbelief over co-star's surprising revelation
© BBC
Naga was surprised at Ben's revelation

Ben has worked for the BBC for over a decade, having joined the broadcaster in 2012 as a reporter for BBC Radio 5 Live. From there, he worked for BBC Essex and BBC Look East before eventually joining BBC World News as a presenter and reporter. He's become a popular presenter on BBC Breakfast since joining the show in 2022. 

In 2021, Ben changed his surname from Bland to Boulos to reflect his Sudanese-Egyptian heritage. On his website, the journalist penned: "My mother’s side of the family is Sudanese-Egyptian and I grew up speaking fluent Arabic alongside English, even though I was born in the UK. I still speak and understand Arabic conversationally, although I have never learned to read and write the language (it remains an ambition to be tackled sometime). 

© James Stack
Ben has worked for the BBC for over ten years

"I was brought up in the Coptic Orthodox faith - one of the oldest Christian denominations in the world - and that link to my heritage continues to this day when I attend services that are conducted in a combination of English, Arabic and Coptic. Many of the values I try to live by are deeply rooted in both that faith and culture," explained the star. "As a child I would downplay all of that, trying to 'fit in' and not wanting to seem in any way 'different'. As an adult, I feel proud of it and want to celebrate and highlight a part of my background that has such a big influence in shaping who I am."

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