A Today weather reporter had the fright of her life after getting her finger bitten by a crab during a live cross at the Sydney Fish Market.
Speaking to seafood seller Mike at the Sydney Fish Markets in Glebe on Friday morning, weather presenter Taylor Haynes was keen to explore the seafood available for the Easter long weekend.
“(Do) you want to show me one of the most expensive seafood pieces here?” she asked Mike as handed her an enormous live crab.
“You didn’t tell me it was a big crab!” she laughed.
Taylor and Mike both laughed as she struggled to hold the enormous crustacean in her hands, joking that the crab was “suffocating” her hand.
However, things got dicey when co-host Michael Atkinson asked Taylor to give the crab a kiss.
When she reached around and gave the animal a peck on the top of its head, the crab latched down on her finger.
“Ah, it’s got my finger!” she cried as the crab continued its morning snack.
“Let me go!”
The seafood handler was quick to try and separate the two, while Taylor tried to keep cool and laugh through the pain.
While trying to pry the crab’s mouth open and release her digits, the co-hosts at the Today studio couldn’t help but watch in shock.
“Oh no,” Michael said as Taylor continued the struggle, holding back simultaneous screams and laughter.
Co-host Alison Piotrowski late said the weather presenter was OK after her encounter with the crab.
“She’s doing fine, thank goodness, and we will catch up with her later on in the program,” she said.
She made another appearance later in the morning with her hand plunged into a cup of cold water.
Taylor then confirmed she would be making a trip to the hospital.
“I’m still in shock,” she said with her fingers sitting softly in the cup.
“It did take a good while (to get unstuck from the crab),
“But I will be going to hospital after this.”
Mike said they needed to use a metal rod to pry the claw off the weather presenter and didn’t realise how badly she’d been grabbed by how calm Haynes stayed.
Despite the pain, she was in good spirits – and even suggested getting compensated for her injury.
“Surely I get a free crab out of this,” she joked.
