Awkward moment Richard Wilkins is mistaken for David Hasselhoff during live cross from London

Today show entertainment editor Richard Wilkins had an awkward encounter with a fan in London who mistook him for a big-name Hollywood star.

Richard Wilkins had an awkward exchange with a fan while trying to do a live cross to the Today show from the UK.

The seasoned entertainment editor was in London this past week for the premiere of Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning when a fan named mistook him for Baywatch star David Hasselhoff.

“Best feeling in the world meeting your idol,” the fan named Noah Knight wrote on Instagram as he shared a video of the encounter.

In the clip, Noah could be heard fanboying over “David Hasselhoff” as he continuously yelled the actor’s name in Wilkins’ direction.

Today producers then stepped in, asking the fan to stop heckling their star reporter.

“Sorry guys, we’re trying to work here,” one producer said, with another adding, “That’s very disrespectful.”

Wilkins also urged the fan to quiet down so they could film.

“Will you give us a break for five minutes, please?” he asked.

Today show entertainment editor Richard Wilkins was heckled on a London street as he did a live cross from London. Picture: Instagram

After the awkward exchange, the 70-year-old reporter took to Instagram to comment on the video, which has since gained some traction on social media.

“Don’t hassle the Hoff!!” Wilkins joked in the comments section, as his Today Extra colleague David Campbell teased, “Loved it when you were on Knight Rider.”

Showing he was a good port about it all, Wilkins “liked” the video and also shared the clip on his Instagram page.

“Midnight live crosses can be challenging! ... post red carpet Global premiere of Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning,” he wrote in the caption.

The fan hilariously mistook Wilkins for Baywatch star David Hasselhoff. Instagram

David Hasselhoff is best known for his starring role in Baywatch. Picture: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Wilkins is actually good friends with the Baywatch star. During the actor’s visit to Australia in 2019 to film a commercial for ANZ, they sat down for lunch at the Today star’s Sydney home.

“It’s amazing, actually, to be back in Sydney because I have such a history here,” Hasselhoff told Wilkins in footage captured by the Today cameras.

“I was one of the only persons to do a wave runner ride underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge when we did Baywatch here.”

Wilkins is actually good mates with Hasselhoff, inviting him to his Sydney home in 2019. Picture: Instagram

That wasn’t his only encounter with the iconic landmark, revealing that he also proposed to wife Hayley Roberts there after doing the Bridge Climb in 2012, which was just one of his many proposals to Roberts.

“We didn’t really think about getting married,” said the actor. “I proposed to her on the Sydney Harbour Bridge at the top, I proposed to her with a charging elephant, I proposed to her at Cape Town, and then I really proposed to her (during a beach picnic in Malibu) because it was the first time I could actually get down on my knees and say, ‘I love you. Will you marry me?’ from the heart. And when she said ‘Yes’ – because she’s 27 years younger – I was blown away.”

The pair were married in Puglia, Italy, in July 2018. Hasselhoff was previously married to Baywatch co-star Pamela Bach from 1989 to 2006. Bach, who shared two daughters with the actor, sadly died in March this year.

He was also married to actress Catherine Hickland from 1984 to 1989.

Originally published as Awkward moment Richard Wilkins is mistaken for David Hasselhoff during live cross from London