ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Two window cleaners managed to achieve their five minutes of fame this summer by inadvertently appearing in shot during the BBC's live coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Presenter Hazel Irvine was speaking to diving expert Tonia Couch when the two men appeared in the window outside the studio and proceeded to clean the glass.

Oblivious to the fact that they were on air, the unnamed cleaners carried on with their task for several minutes. This caused awkwardness in the studio and led to coverage of the Games being temporarily halted.

Irvine attempted to make light of the event, telling viewers: "Can you see this behind me? I don't think they know they're on telly at the moment."

But the window cleaners became an instant hit on social media and the incident sparked a flurry of comments on X and other platforms. One user tweeted: "Live Olympic window cleaning on the BBC!" while another wrote: "I didn't know window cleaning now qualified as an Olympic sport."

And a third said: "Just a casual bit of window cleaning in the middle of the BBC coverage."