It's hard to keep calm when you catch sight of the largest animal ever known to have lived on Earth.
BBC presenter Steve Backshall learned that truth when in the middle of a live interview in Monterey, California, with whale expert Doris Welch, a blue whale was spotted on camera by the helicopter filming from above. It's the first time a blue whale sighting has been broadcast live on television.
"This is one of the most extraordinary things I've ever seen," Backshall says breathlessly in the clip below.
"When I started off filming wildlife just 16 years ago, if someone had said 'go and film a blue whale,' I would have said they were crazy ... these animals have made such an extraordinary come back."
When is it okay to abandon a live interview? When a blue whale suddenly appears behind you... #BigBlueLivehttps://t.co/irRqnHij0l— BBC One (@BBCOne) August 30, 2015
The helicopter circled above the whale for several minutes, capturing live footage of the magnificent creature's slow breaths before the huge animal dives deeply to feed on krill.
Oh my. The ocean just delivered her very best. A big blue whale live on air #BigBlueLive - not a dry eye in the OB truck. Sniff.— BBC Oceans (@OceanHQ) August 30, 2015
The programme was part of Big Blue Live a live television event by the BBC and PBS from Monterey Bay's National Marine Sanctuary.