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'BBC Dad' returns for Olympics, but no gate-crashing kids?

Professor Robert Kelly, also known as "BBC Dad," went viral when his kids crashed his live interview, and social media wants to see more of them.

Headshot of Gael Cooper
Headshot of Gael Cooper
Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
2 min read

He's baaaack! But this time, he remembered to lock the door.

Professor Robert Kelly, aka the "BBC Dad" of viral video fame, appeared on Sky News over the weekend to comment on the North and South Korean Olympic athletes marching into the Opening Ceremonies together Friday night. But Twitter reaction focused less on what Kelly said, and more on what didn't happen.

A tweet Sunday from British editor David Jones pointed out that it's almost impossible to watch Kelly interviews now without concentrating on the door behind him, hoping to see a return visit from his irrepressible family.

Back in March, Kelly gained viral fame when his two kids and his wife gatecrashed a live Skype interview he was conducting with the BBC. First, 4-year-old daughter Marion strutted in, then 8-month-old James followed in his rolling walker, and last, Kelly's wife, Jung-a Kim, desperately yanked the kids back out.

The YouTube video of the moment has been watched by 26 million people, earning Kelly the nickname "BBC Dad." (And yes, Kelly was wearing pants -- many assumed he might not have been, thus giving him a reason to stay seated as things escalated.)

This is far from Kelly's first interview since the family frolic. As a professor at Pusan National University in South Korea, he's an in-demand expert whenever Korea makes the news -- you can watch more of his interviews on his own YouTube channel. But now that the Winter Olympics have begun, Kelly is once again reaching a wider audience. And his fans know what they want.

On Feb. 7, Kelly's original interview was named Best TV Moment at the Broadcast Awards, an event that celebrates the best in British television.

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