TikTok chef Poppy O’Toole suffers ‘vulgar’ slip of tongue on live TV

A popular British chef has been left mortified after accidentally using an “inappropriate” word during a live TV appearance.

Poppy O’Toole, who rose to fame sharing cooking videos on TikTok, was rustling up a dish on a BBC morning show when she suffered an unfortunate slip of the tongue.

Discussing how she built her following after being made redundant during the pandemic with host Matt Tebbutt, Poppy said it all started “on a quim”.

A TV chef's accidentally X-rated on-air blunder has gone viral. Photo / BBC

As soon as the word came out, Poppy realised it didn’t sound quite right, asking: “Is that the right word?”

Matt quickly corrected her, stating she meant to say “on a whim”, swiftly suggesting they “move on” when Poppy asked what her initial word meant.

Despite his quick thinking Matt later apologised to viewers for Poppy’s slip of the tongue, as unbeknown to the chef, the word is slang for female genitalia.

The British Collins dictionary describes it as a “vulgar” term.

“You may have heard a word Poppy used earlier, she genuinely didn’t know what it meant, I will explain it later I promise what it means after the show. Apologies,” Matt explained.

Poppy’s confusion over the X-rated mistake is visibly clear, something she later pokes fun at when she shared her “blunder” on TikTok.

“Please tell me I’m not the only one who didn’t know what this word meant,” she wrote.

Her video, which has been viewed almost 3 million times, resonated with many – as people admitted they too were in the dark.

“I’ve never heard that word,” one commented, as another admitted: “I just had to Google it.”

“Never heard that word before in my life,” someone else remarked.

As one declared: “Never heard of it, learnt something new today.”

The BBC were quick to "apologise" – stating Poppy genuinely had no idea what the word meant. Photo / BBC

Others suggested the show “made a mountain out of a molehill” as it was clear Poppy was trying to say “whim”.

Mostly though, many saw the funny side of the slip-up, declaring it “hilarious”.

Twitter erupted with reactions to Poppy’s misstep, some stating she was their “new hero”.

“I want to be emotionally compensated for having my mum ask me what ‘quim’ means,” one viewer teased.

“Astounding scenes on #saturdaykitchenlive,” another commented.

While one raged: “Happy Saturday to absolutely everyone except for the idiots at BBC who think the word quim is so offensive it required an apology.”

The blunder was so widely discussed, the word was trending on the social media platform over the weekend.

Poppy later poked fun at herself once more, telling followers she now has a new word for when she plays Scrabble.