Veteran BBC correspondent John Simpson left Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway in hysterics on Good Morning Britain this morning after swearing live on-air before 7am.
The former foreign correspondent and CBE was explaining to Richard the "terrifying" moment he was taking part in a mock execution in Beirut, where he was the person being 'executed'.
John was explaining to Richard how he was told to kneel and had a man hold a gun to the back of his neck:
"He pulled the trigger and I thought my last moments had come... and then everybody laughed. I got up and brushed off my knees and I thought, 'I've got to reassert myself here'..."
You can see the following moment in the video above.
Mortified, John held his hand to his mouth, astonished at what he'd just said.
Richard burst into laughter while Kate was quick to apologise to the nation for John's slip of the tongue, but not before scolding him for swearing at 6.50am.
She said: "You're also in trouble now for saying that on breakfast television! We won't give you a mock execution, you're okay John, you're okay, I think people will understand!"
GMB viewers were also amazed and did see the funny side hailing it as a 'TV classic' as they took to Twitter to applaud the moment along with Richard and Kate's reaction.
One person Tweeted: "Could John Simpson replace Richard Madeley on #GMB after waking up the nation when he said ‘w*****’?"
Another added: "Loved how John Simpson literally woke the nation up with his w***** drop! What a brave man to have gone through such atrocities."
A third said: " @kategarraway 's face on @GMB when John Simpson said he called someone a w***** for subjecting him to a mock execution was priceless!"
A fourth Tweeted: "Classic early morning TV swearing from John Simpson. Well done, sir."
Good Morning Britain returns at 6am every weekday morning on ITV.
