The One Show was forced to pause and apologise after a guest threw out a sw3ar word during today’s show. A-list actress Sally Phillips appeared on the BBC talk show, and let slip a very naughty word pre-watershed.

In the episode, Sally was talking about another actor and remembered noticing how talented he was, recalling how she said to her co-star Ben Miller at the time. “Oh s**t, he’s really good.” Alex Jones laughed at the moment, but later came back to apologise for the sw3aring. The show cut to a segment about how children are reading less since the pandemic, and spoke about an event to get children back to their books.

The One Show studio fell into stunned chuckles after actress Sally Phillips swore live on air, forcing Lauren Laverne to apologise for the ‘fruity language’ ( 
Image:
BBC/The One Show)

Lauren Laverne seamlessly linked the topic with Sally’s adult language, and apologised once the cameras were back in the studio. “Now I think speaking of language, and the love of language, we should just apologise for any fruity language. Sorry,” she said.

Alex still couldn’t hold back a giggle, as she asked: “Was it me?” Lauren assured her that it wasn’t as Sally cringed and covered her face with her hand.

Claudia Winkleman was also on the sofa as she prepared for her own moment on the show, and pitched in: “I think it might have been me. Yes, I’ll take it.” The Traitors host then turned to Sally and winked, as the interviewees continued chuckling.

Sally and Ben were on The One Show to talk about their new BBC One series Austin, starring Love on the Spectrum breakout Michael Theo.

In the show – which saw Michael draw on some experiences from his own life – Ben plays kids’ author Julian, while Sally plays his illustrator wife Ingrid. Julian is on a book tour in Australia when he’s confronted by his 20-something autistic son Austin – played by Michael – whom he had no idea existed.

Ben wrote the series specifically for 31-year-old Michael, who has autism in real life. After watching him in Love on the Spectrum, he was immediately inspired to work with the Aussie actor.

“Me and my wife Jess binged it and I started wondering if Michael would be interested in doing a comedy show as he’s so funny in Love On The Spectrum,” he revealed of how the show got off the ground.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy star Sally has a son with Down’s syndrome, and was quick to get involved in the show with Ben – whom she’s been pals with for decades.

Ben described: “Then Sally got involved – very early on. I knew she was an advocate for representation and she’d have a lot of wisdom as well.”