BBC Breakfast's Charlie Stayt shocked everyone as he unexpectedly announced his co-presenter's forgotten acting career on live television. In the Friday (March 28) broadcast of the popular morning show, Charlie and his co-host Nina Warhurst dealt with the day's headlines from the famous red sofa.

A particular discussion left viewers taken aback when Charlie revealed that Nina had once pursued an acting career, a detour from her usual presenting role. During an interview with Beyond Paradise stars Jamie Bamber and Barbara Flynn about their new series, Charlie casually mentioned Nina's past in acting.

He teased: "Nina has also been an actor, do you know this?" to which Barbara responded: "Yes," reports . A surprised Nina enquired: "Oh. Do you?" With confirmation from Barbara: "Yes, I do," a stunned Nina interjected: "Oh. It was a very long time ago."

Then Charlie redirected viewers' attention to the screen as they displayed throwback images of Nina performing. He queried the audience: "Would you like to see a little bit of Nina's acting?" Clearly caught off guard, Nina sat upright, exclaiming: "What! How have you done this without me knowing?"

Charlie inquired: "So this is a still of you doing.. What are you doing?" to which Nina disclosed: "This is Casualty Christmas special back in 1997."

The host then quipped: "You can just see the acting in my eyes and you can now see why I moved into journalism." Jamie probed further: "When was this?" Nina responded: "96/97 so a long time ago."

She playfully chided her colleague Charlie: "Anyway thanks for that Charlie." The studio erupted into laughter as Charlie retorted: "Well it would be a shame not to."

Barbara teased: "Now where is your surprise for him." Nina warned: "That's coming."

Nina starred in an episode of Casualty during the Christmas season of 1997. Paying homage to the broadcaster's milestone centenary year in 2020, Nina shared a nostalgic snapshot on Twitter from her acting tenure.

Looking back with a sense of humour at her initial foray into acting, Nina tweeted: "Howling at finding my first appearance with Auntie Casualty...a spiky teen in polyester, keeping boys a secret, causing parents endless headaches (v method for me in 1997 luvvies ) Here's to the next chapter. Proud to be part of it."

Although Casualty remains her most renowned role, Nina has also graced other television series like Heartbeat and Butterfly Collectors with her talent.

BBC Breakfast airs from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer