Dan Walker has given a rendition of a sea shanty during BBC Breakfast.
The presenter teased an upcoming interview with singer Martyn Waitt by announcing his appearance in verse.
Sea shanties have experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent weeks thanks to a series of viral social media videos on platforms including TikTok.
It’s Monday morning… it’s Shanty Time 🎉⛵️⚓️😂🍻 #BBCBreakfast #TheShantyManCan #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/U5B5JIcjyu
— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) January 25, 2021
Walker sang: “Around the time of 7.20 we will speak to the singer of the shanty, his name’s Martyn, he’s nearly 83 and he comes from the Isle of Wight.”
He shared a clip of his performance on social media, saying: “It’s Monday morning… it’s Shanty Time.”
A video of Waitt singing a sea shanty about coronavirus to the tune of The Wellerman has been viewed more than 500,000 times on TikTok.
He told the programme he decided to record the song after his granddaughter told him people are “going mad for sea shanties on TikTok”.
Sea shanty singer Martyn Waitt tells #BBCBreakfast his granddaughter encouraged him to create his viral Covid vaccine shanty. https://t.co/qZ58DVUjm8 pic.twitter.com/9fK1y9LSN8
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) January 25, 2021
Waitt added: “So I looked at it and thought, blimey, I could get a few shanties on here which would cause the younger generation a bit of amusement.”
He said he was told to perform The Wellerman shanty but his son told him that “everybody’s doing that” on social media and he ought to change the lyrics to do something a bit different.
“So we came up with something that’s very, very topical and relevant and that’s how the Covid shanty came about,” he added.