Ben Thompson interviews Rachel Reeves on BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast took an emotional turn this weekend as roving reporter Sarah Rogers choked back tears as she headed to Southport to pay tribute to the young victims of the vicious stabbing attack.
With Ben Thompson holding the fort in the studio and covering the riots breaking out across the country in response to the attack, Sarah was visibly moved as she walked among balloons and flowers.
Handing over to her, Ben said: “Tensions have escalated since the killing of three young girls in Southport last Monday.
“False rumours spread that the suspect was an asylum seeker. Let’s talk now to our reporter Sarah Rogers, who’s in Southport for us. Sarah, morning to you. There will be a memorial service later, won’t there? But I wonder how the community is coping nearly one week on?”
With tears clearly clouding her voice, Sarah managed to deliver an impeccable segment – but her eyes did appear to be watering at certain points throughout the report. It was easy to see why, with chalk tributes and messages to the young girls drawn on the pavement under her feet.
She said: “The scenes here are very different to the scenes of violence up and down the country. This area here is for tributes which have been refreshed and kept beautiful almost a week on since those girls were killed at a Taylor Swift dance class.
Sarah’s voice broke on her last words, but she managed to add: "How does anybody get their head around that?
"In these tributes, we have images of those girls […] today in the town there will be a special memorial service for them with pink ribbons in their memory."
Fans online were clearly feeling for her as they turned to social media with their own thoughts.
One penned: “Watching BBC Breakfast and you can clearly see the reporter at the Southport tribute site getting emotional... looks like she's about to cry. I wouldn't be able to hold it together if I was there. So shockingly sad.”
Another agreed: “I thought this too… really tragic.”
