Those Infamous Kids Who Interrupted Their Dad's BBC Interview Are Growing Up
Robert Kelly posted a new photo of his family six years after their viral moment.
It's been been six years since "BBC Dad" gave all work-from-home parents the most relatable moment ever, and everyone’s favorite viral dad checked in with the world with an adorable update.
In March 2017, Robert Kelly — an associate professor at Pusan National University in South Korea — was giving a live interview from his home office with BBC News to discuss politics when he was unceremoniously interrupted by his children.
While mid-answer, Kelly's 4-year-old daughter Marion is suddenly seen in the background, opening the office door and strutting into her dad’s office (and international television) with the confidence that only a 4-year-old could have.
Then, as Kelly realizes that his daughter has snuck into the room, he tries pushing her out of the frame to no avail. Soon enough, 9-month-old, James, rolls into the office dramatically in a baby walker.
Kelly’s wife and mom to the precocious youngsters, Jung-A, then zooms into the room, clearly in a complete panic, and grabs both children and pulled them out of the room while they scream.
“My apologies,” Kelly told the interviewer, clearly mortified at the unbelievable and hilarious moment.
The clip soon went viral with Kelly being dubbed "BBC Dad" on social media. That same day, Kelly published a statement on his blog.
“My family and I would like to thank our many well-wishers. We are just a regular family, and raising two young children can be a lot of work,” he wrote.
“Because of that, it seems that the video has resonated with parents around the world, and we are flattered at the many gentle sentiments about our children. Thank you. We love them very much, and we are happy that our family blooper brought some laughter to so many.”
Though the moment turned into a heartwarming and hilarious moment watched by millions, Kelly admitted that at the time, he and his wife were convinced the unpredictable moment would be the end of his career.
“We both assumed that was the end of my career as a talking head,” he told The Guardian in 2018. “I thought I’d blown it in front of the whole world.”
Where is BBC Dad now?
Thankfully, that wasn’t the case and Kelly is still a professor and continues to offer political commentary. He recently recognized the anniversary of the hilarious video on Twitter, giving his followers an update on his infamous family.
“Some BBC Dad content since the 6th anniversary of the original video was last Friday. Marion had a singing performance this past weekend, so we got some nice family pictures. Thanks again to all of you who follow me bc of the video. My family and I flattered by your kindness,” he wrote on Twitter.
He then posted a follow-up with even more photos of the kids. “I hope you've found it a good follow beyond the occasional picture of my kids. Thank you ... Here is what the kids look like now. Marion is 9; James is almost 6,” he wrote.
The BBC Dad also included a recent video of his family picking strawberries for Marion’s birthday.
“ADDENDUM: Here’s video of the kids today. The day after BBC Dad day is Marion’s birthday. (That’s why she was so happy with that little strut in the original video.) So we took the kids to a farm to pick fresh strawberries today. Here’s a clip of that,” he explained.
Several Twitter users replied to Kelly, noting that they were thrilled to see the family doing well and thanked Kelly for such an iconic viral moment.
“I love your story because it gave everyone a chance to laugh at the craziness of family life,” one user replied.
Three years before millions more people would be working remotely, Kelly’s classic encounter with his curious kids were truly the trailblazers when it came to Zoom mishaps while working from home. Now, it’s become almost normalized that your children will photobomb a meeting or two now and then — and it all started with BBC Dad.
