VETERAN news anchor Eric Young has been caught uttering an expletive on live television after a news bulletin turned into a nightmare.

A timing gaffe meant last night's Prime News 5.30pm bulletin ended with the weather unexpectedly dropped, the New Zealand Herald reports.

But that was not the only thing that exploded, with Young letting off an F-bomb on air in a debriefing session that was unintentionally broadcast.

Despite the missing weather segment Young signed off for the night and sat poised, watching his desk monitor.

"Where was the weather?" Young asked.

Someone could be heard apologising profusely off-air, saying he had no idea what just happened.

Viewers were then able to eavesdrop on a technical discussion about problems with timings and a decision to drop the weather.

"Something's happened to the timings. I'm so sorry mate," said the colleague off-camera.

Young, who was all class, told him he didn't need to apologise.

The embarrassing gaffe led the colleague to admit he would have dropped a story about a brain.

"Oh f*** absolutely," replied Young, dropping something far more serious than a story and completely unaware the conversation was being broadcast.

Rather than being riled up, viewers had nothing but praise for the way the experienced broadcaster handled the nightmare situation.

It's the second time Young has transgressed on live television after he was caught giving the fingers to a colleague in the studio six years ago during the sports news.

Sky TV has been approached for comment.

This article was originally published on the NZ Herald and had been reproduced here with permission.