Channel Seven star Peter Mitchell has been called out for his lack of ad-libbing abilities during an awkward exchange with fellow newsreader Mike Amor.
During Monday’s 4pm broadcast, the two were engaged in some unscripted banter when Peter appeared to struggle to find the right words.
Mike, who presents the afternoon weekday news bulletin in Melbourne, casually asked, ‘A big welcome back to Peter Mitchell! Mitch, good to see you. How was your break?’
Despite being Seven’s chief news presenter in Melbourne for over 20 years, Peter seemed momentarily lost for words.
‘Very nice, thank you Mike,’ Peter responded, but then awkwardly fumbled his words as he continued.
‘Summertime off, what more can you expect? It was lovely and great to be back. Batteries fully charged.’
Channel Seven star Peter Mitchell (pictured) has been called out for his lack of ad-libbing abilities during an awkward exchange with Mike Amor
The awkwardness didn’t end there, as Peter also struggled to deliver a preview of the upcoming 6pm headlines.
‘Okay, well, there’s been a bad police car chase through Melbourne’s west and Cassie Zervos, our crime reporter, has all the details,’ Peter said, seemingly caught off guard.
He continued the uncomfortable exchange with: ‘Mike, you also realise it’s only a few weeks until the start of back-to-school?’
‘Oh right,’ Mike replied with a laugh.
Peter added: ‘It’s very expensive as we know, all those uniforms and books and everything else. The Smith Family had come up with an idea and they want to help relieve families, and we’ve got that one as well.’
There seemed to be an issue with the autocue, as Peter could be seen shuffling papers while struggling to articulate his thoughts.
Mike and Peter’s awkward banter did not go unnoticed on the Media Spy forums, where many suggested that the exchange highlighted Peter’s difficulty with spontaneous conversation.
‘Just watched the Mike and Mitch interview on 7plus – super awkward,’ one viewer commented.
Despite being Seven’s chief news presenter in Melbourne for over 20 years, Peter seemed momentarily lost for words
There appeared to be an issue with the autocue
‘Mitch seemed almost nervous, which is surprising for someone who’s been a lead anchor for so many years.’
One viewer suggested there may have been a conspiracy afoot, suggesting that staffers set Peter up to fail.
‘Was Mitch set up by staffers to fail sans autocue? Felt like watching an episode of Frontline when Mike didn’t have his reaction scripted,’ they said.
Another went a step further, suggesting that it could have been Mike Amor who had been the cause of Peter’s performance.
‘Maybe by Mike lol. It really threw him off asking about his holiday. Surely, they know ad-lib isn’t his strong suit. So why put him in situations like that?
Another viewer chimed in with: ‘I actually agree with this.’
‘The producer or director putting this together should have worked closer with Mitch. They know add lipping isn’t he’s strong point, so why do it?’
One viewer suggested there may’ve been a conspiracy afoot, suggesting that staffers or even Mike Amor himself may’ve set Peter up to fail.
One viewer put the blame well and truly on producers who would’ve known Peter wasn’t the ‘greatest’ when it comes to as-libbing.
‘Yes, it’s awkward, but it does give the impression that they just threw him in the studio with nothing prepared and just asked them to fill 30 seconds,’ they said.
‘Knowing that ad-libbing isn’t his greatest strength, it was sloppy production.’
Peter has been the chief news presenter at Seven News Melbourne since 2000 after helming the weekend news bulletin.
