Girlfriend pops the question in 'painfully awkward' live TV proposal

A woman in the UK has taken advantage of a leap day tradition to propose to her boyfriend — but the unorthodox gesture on breakfast TV left viewers and the show's hosts squirming uncomfortably.

Helen, from Cumbria in England's northwest, used a special segment of ITV's This Morning to propose to her partner Mark at the butcher's shop where he works.

Asking someone to marry you can be a nervy business at the best of times, so Helen tried to lighten the mood by starting with a joke.

"Today, in front of a few people, I've come to ask you … for a pound of sausages," she said as the pair laughed nervously.

"No, I'm only joking. I've come here today to ask you a very, very serious question. You know that I love you so much, and you're my soulmate and really the best thing that's ever happened to me. Well, today will you marry me?"

With Helen desperately waiting for an answer and the show's hosts watching nervously from these studio, Mark took a second too long to answer before replying: "I don't know, I have to think about it a little bit don't I…"

It was a poorly executed joke that saw viewers branding the segment "the most awkward proposal I've ver seen" and "absolutely horrific".

After his joke fell flat, Mark finally said "of course I will" and the pair hugged as the breakfast hosts fell back on their couch clutching their chests."