BBC News apologises after using picture of Viola Davis instead of Beyoncé during Grammys coverage

BBC News was forced to issue a grovelling apology after accidentally using a picture of actress Viola Davis while covering singer Beyoncé’s historic win at this year’s Grammy Awards.

The Break My Soul hit-maker, 41, broke the record on Sunday night for the artist who has won the most Grammys after scooping four gongs, taking her overall total to 32.

The previous record holder was the late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti, who achieved 31 Grammys over the course of his career.

However, when the broadcaster reported on Beyoncé’s triumph later that evening, the news channel used a picture of actress Viola Davis at the Golden Globes earlier this month alongside the caption “Beyoncé’s big night”.

Eagle-eyed viewers were quick to call out the mistaker on social media.

“Who’s gonna tell @BBCNews?” wrote one Twitter user.

“I’m guessing it’s a mistake but with all their resources BBC have zero excuse for this,” penned a second.

Others tried to justify the move, claiming it was a screengrab from a video showing rolling coverage of various Grammy winners, including Davis and Harry Styles, running with the Beyoncé tagline.

“Guys it’s a still image of a video,” interjected one person, while another added: “I actually think this is just a case where they ran the major headline across the televised coverage, basically the tagline isn’t changing regardless of who is on the screen throughout the segment.”

The BBC fully held its hands up however, admitting the error in an apologetic tweet of their own , saying it “fell below” their usual standards.

They wrote: “We apologise for the mistake last night when our news channels briefly showed a photograph of Viola Davis from January’s Golden Globes alongside a headline about Beyoncé at yesterday’s Grammys. This fell below the BBC’s usual standards.”