The One Show's 20th anniversary celebrations were thrown into chaos on Thursday night when a Government wildfire emergency alert sounded loudly through the studio live on air.
Just minutes into the special extended hour-long episode, presenters Alex Jones and Roman Kemp were interrupted by the unmistakable sound of an emergency alarm. Kemp was revealing that former presenter Christine Lampard would be returning as part of the celebrations when the noise became impossible to ignore.
While the 33-year-old attempted to continue with the introduction, Jones looked around the studio, shook her head and raised her hands in confusion.
Presenters Press On Despite Alarm
'You couldn't make that up could you,' the longtime One Show presenter said. 'Is that a fire alarm?' Kemp then turned towards somebody off camera to ask: 'Is there some sort of fire alarm?'
Rather than abandoning the broadcast, the presenters quickly decided to press ahead. 'We continue,' they declared, before carrying on with the rundown of the evening's anniversary festivities as the alarm continued in the background. Eventually, silence returned to the studio, prompting a relieved Kemp to announce: 'Ok, it's stopped.'
Government Alert Sent Nationwide
Despite the unfortunate timing, there was no emergency unfolding inside the BBC studio. Instead, the interruption was caused by a Government emergency alert being sent to mobile phones across England and Wales amid the growing threat of wildfires. The alerts began being distributed on a rolling basis from 7pm, meaning the special happened to be starting at exactly the wrong moment for a studio presumably filled with mobile phones.
The warning urged members of the public to avoid lighting anything that could potentially start a blaze, including barbecues, campfires and fireworks. It read: 'There is a very high risk of wildfires nationally. Residents, landowners and visitors should not undertake any activity that could start a fire, including disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators or fireworks. Even a small flame can rapidly develop into a major wildfire, placing lives, homes, businesses and emergency responders at risk. Follow official updates and report signs of fire immediately by calling 999. Search gov.uk/alerts for more information.'
Wildfires Cause Destruction
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has urged the public to 'take the emergency alert seriously'. The alert follows the outbreak of several major blazes, including a wildfire in the West Midlands, where 19 homes were destroyed. Communities were also left 'devastated' in Stoke-on-Trent after fires gutted houses and forced people to flee. Some of them lost 'everything'.
After airing a pre-recorded segment, Kemp returned to clear up the confusion for viewers who may have wondered whether The One Show's birthday celebrations were about to end with the studio being evacuated. 'As you will probably be aware that was actually a wildfire alert on everyone's phones,' he explained. 'You would have heard it on the opening of our show, but as always we hope everyone is staying safe, of course.'
The interruption came on what was supposed to be a celebratory evening for the long-running BBC staple, which was marking two decades on air with an extended edition and appearances from familiar faces from its history. The One Show first launched in 2006 and has since become a fixture of the BBC's early evening schedule, with a lengthy list of presenters passing through its famous sofa over the years. Fortunately, the unexpected soundtrack didn't derail the celebrations for long. Although, after 20 years of live television, perhaps an emergency alert going off during the opening minutes was a suitably One Show way for the anniversary special to begin.
