Watch: The family behind viral BBC video offers its side of the story

After the several theories and explanations offered by many, the family at the centre of the BBC interview which pretty much broke the internet last week, has finally given the world a refreshingly simple explanation.

Professor Robert E Kelly and his wife, Kim Jung-a had to lie low after their kids, four-year-old Marion and eight-month-old James gatecrashed Kelly’s live BBC interview on Korean affairs. The viral clip resulted in more attention that they ever imagined, from viewers all across the globe.

“Everybody we know seems to think it’s pretty hysterical. We understand why people find it enjoyable ... It’s funny,” Kelly told James Menendez, the BBC presenter who handled the original interview.

Both Kelly and his wife laughed over the incident but were also worried about what would happen next. “We were worried actually that the BBC would never call us again. That was our first response – mortification that we had completely blown our relationship with you,” Kelly explained.

Several viewers were fascinated by Marion’s swagger in front of the screen. She’d celebrated her birthday earlier that day at school, Kelly said in an interview. “She was in a hippity-hoppity mood that day because of the school party,’ he said.

The Associate Professor of Political Science at Pusan National University, Kelly was having a rather busy day and forgot to lock the door of his study before the interview, as he usually does.

“I made this minor mistake that turned my family into YouTube stars,” Kelly said. “It’s pretty ridiculous.”

And some major questions posed by viewers have been answered. For example, the professor was wearing pants (many wondered about this because he didn’t move from his spot) but they were jeans. And no, nobody was scolded for the goof-up.

The professor felt deeply uncomfortable about people assuming that his wife was the child’s nanny, but his wife was not too perturbed. “I hope people just enjoy it and don’t argue over this thing,” she told the BBC. “I’m not the nanny – that’s the truth – so I hope they stop arguing.”