Central TV newsreader Joanne Malin apologised to viewers yesterday following an on-air gaffe when she said it was "p***ing it down" live on air.

Miss Malin meant to say 'tipping it down' but got mixed up during the live presentation in the pouring rain on Wednesday night.

"It was my first on-air faux pas in eight-and-a-half years on Central and I am so sorry," she said.

Miss Malin was on an outside broadcast at Trentham Gardens, near Stoke-on-Trent, and was soaked through in horrendous weather when she made the gaffe during the live 6pm bulletin.