BBC newsreader Reeta Chakrabarti was left feeling like Texas lawyer and viral star Rod Ponton after getting a cat filter stuck on her during a live bulletin. 

Ponton went viral earlier this week for accidentally appearing as a cat in a virtual court hearing, while Judge Roy Ferguson attempted to help him.

The story made headlines on BBC News on Wednesday, with Reeta’s bosses deciding to stick her in a similar situation. 

Appearing with a cat’s ears, nose and whiskers on her face, an exasperated Rita said: “Well, they said they would do this to me and they have.

“It was inevitable I suppose, and it will give you paws for thought.”

During the infamous Zoom hearing, Ponton had to let Judge Ferguson know that he wasn’t a cat after accidentally activating the filter function. 

After initially feeling concerned about the reaction to the video, Ponton said he has now embraced becoming an internet sensation.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “As it turns out, in hindsight it’s provided a good laugh, I think, for the country.

“I think anybody that’s ever struggled with a computer, with Zoom, can recognise that those kinds of things can happen and it certainly did happen to me.”

A repost of the video on Twitter now has more than 28 million views.

Judge Ferguson said what happened was a “simple mistake that could happen to any one of us”, and he did not wish for people to “poke fun” at the lawyer for the mishap.

“It goes hand-in-hand with the legal community’s effort to continue representing their clients in these challenging times,” he added.