The real reason behind The Project’s mid-air evacuation has been revealed.
Star Sam Taunton took to social media on Wednesday night to put his hand up for being behind the fire alarm that caused the panel show to be replaced with an episode of The Dog House Australia.
‘Sorry guys. I popped the white toast in the toaster on the multigrain setting. My bad,’ wrote the comedian on a video post of the event by co-star Sarah Harris.
However on Thursday morning, Harris admitted the actual reason behind the blunder.
‘It was a false alarm,’ the 43-year-old said on Thursday morning’s Kyle and Jackie O Show. ‘Apparently there was some weird air conditioner thing that set it off.’
A spokesperson from Fire and Rescue Victoria confirmed they responded to a false alarm after a smoke detector malfunctioned.
Channel 10 was thrown into chaos on Wednesday night when The Project was abruptly taken off the air and the show’s presenters were forced to dramatically flee the set in Melbourne.
Viewers at home were left scratching their heads at 6:49pm when the news show hosted by Waleed Aly, Harris and Taunton suddenly vanished from screens during its ad break, and was replaced with an episode of The Dog House Australia.
The real reason behind The Project’s mid-air evacuation has been revealed. Pictured: star Sam Taunton
On Thursday morning, Harris admitted the actual reason behind the blunder after Sam joked he caused it
As the series that homes unwanted pooches played across the country, a crawl ran along the bottom of TV screens, updating viewers on the alarming turn of events.
‘Due to unforeseen circumstances, please enjoy this screening of The Dog House,’ the vague text read.
One Channel 10 staff member opted to take full advantage of the chaos by turning the bedlam into social media content for the ratings-challenged show.
‘The fire alarm has gone off and they’re making us evacuate,’ the crew member began.
Channel 10 was thrown into chaos on Wednesday night when The Project was abruptly taken off the air. Pictured: Waleed Aly (left) and Sarah Harris (right)
‘Seems like fire safety is coming above infotainment. Which seems crazy to me,’ they continued as they walked down a fire escape.
‘But keep in mind that it’s the showbiz rules of evacuation, which means it’s children and celebrities first, then normals.
‘So, Waleed and Sarah, they’ve been choppered out of here while we’re taking the stairs.’
Pictured: Fire fighters at The Como Centre in South Yarra where the show is filmed
The video then saw the crew member exiting Channel 10 studios as firetrucks pulled up with their lights flashing.
Outside, Aly and Harris could be seen nervously smiling as they followed the crowd away from the building to safety, still wearing their mic packs.
‘This is how we should do the show,’ Aly joked. ‘Can I just clear up, I did not ask for a night off. This is not part of any grand plan.
‘I genuinely have no idea what’s happening and it’s never happened before in my life,’ he continued.
Harris jumped in on the lighthearted joke, asking: ‘Who was cooking toast is what I want to know. Who was cooking toast?’
‘Well apparently we’re airing The Dog House,’ the crew member said, to which Harris laughed and responded: ‘If we have a ratings spike we’ll be…’
Later, the panelists were seen running down the street and squeezing into an elevator on their way back to the studio.
The Project continued its live broadcast at 7:10pm, with the hosts detailing what had transpired during the lengthy break.
Later, the panelists were seen running down the street and squeezing into an elevator on their way back to the studio. The Project continued its live broadcast at 7:10pm
The Project continued its live broadcast at 7:10pm, with the hosts detailing what had transpired during the lengthy break
‘There was a fire alert in our building and we had to leave, ‘Aly explained.
‘Not just leave, we had to run,’ Sarah interjected.
‘Who drew up our fire plan? We met up a kilometre away,’ questioned Aly, joking at the turn of events.
Later in the episode, Jamie Oliver was quick to take the mickey out of the mishap.
‘First up, can I just apologise for the fire alarm? I sent someone in to do some canapes and look what happened,’ the celebrity chef joked.
A post shared to X by the program revealed a fire alarm was set off in the studio, bringing the show to a grinding halt and forcing its presenters and crew to evacuate The Como Centre in South Yarra where the show is filmed.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Channel 10 for comment.
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