The real reason behind The Project’s mid-flight evacuation has been revealed.
Star Sam Taunton took to social media on Wednesday night to express his support for being behind the fire alarm that caused the panel show to be replaced by an episode of The Dog House Australia.
“Sorry guys. I put the toasted white bread in the toaster on the multigrain setting. My mistake,” the comedian wrote in a video posted of the event by his co-star Sarah Harris.
However, on Thursday morning, Harris admitted the real reason behind the error.
“It was a false alarm,” the 43-year-old said on Thursday morning’s Kyle and Jackie O Show. “Apparently there was something weird going on with the air conditioning that set it off.”
A Fire and Rescue Victoria spokesman confirmed they responded to a false alarm after a smoke detector malfunctioned.
The network was thrown into chaos on Wednesday night when The Project was abruptly pulled from the air and the show’s hosts were forced to dramatically flee the set in Melbourne.
Viewers at home were left scratching their heads at 6.49pm when the news programme hosted by Waleed Aly, Harris and Taunton suddenly disappeared from screens during the ad break and was replaced by an episode of The Dog House Australia.
The real reason for The Project’s mid-flight evacuation has been revealed. Pictured: star Sam Taunton
On Thursday morning, Harris admitted the real reason behind the mistake after Sam joked that he was behind it.
As the series about sheltering unwanted dogs aired across the country, text scrolled across the bottom of television 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 staffer opted to make the most of the chaos by turning the chaos into social media content for the low-rated show.
“The fire alarm has sounded and we are being evacuated,” the crew member began.
On Wednesday night, Channel 10 was thrown into chaos when The Project was abruptly taken off the air. Pictured: Waleed Aly (left) and Sarah Harris (right)
“It seems like fire safety is taking precedence over infotainment, which I think is crazy,” they continued as they climbed down a fire escape.
‘But keep in mind that these are showbiz evacuation rules, which means kids and celebrities go in first, then regular people.
—So Waleed and Sarah were taken out by helicopter while we went down the stairs.
Pictured: Firefighters at the Como Centre in South Yarra, where the show is filmed.
The video then shows the crew member leaving the Channel 10 studios as fire trucks approached with their lights on.
Outside, Aly and Harris could be seen smiling nervously as they followed the crowd away from the building to safety, still wearing their microphone packs.
“This is how we should do the show,” Aly joked. “I want to make something clear: I didn’t ask for a night off. This isn’t part of any grand plan.”
“I really have no idea what’s going on and it’s never happened before in my life,” he continued.
Harris joined in on the light-hearted banter, asking: “I want to know who was cooking the toast. Who was cooking the toast?”
“Well, apparently we’re airing The Dog House,” the crew member said, to which Harris laughed and replied, “If we get a ratings boost, we’ll be…”
The panelists were later seen running down the street and squeezing into an elevator on their way back to the studio.
The Project continued its live broadcast at 7:10 p.m., with the hosts detailing what had happened during the long break.
Later, the panelists were seen running down the street and getting into an elevator to return to the studio. The Project continued its live broadcast at 7:10 p.m.
The Project continued its live broadcast at 7:10 p.m., with the presenters detailing what had happened during the long break.
“There was a fire alert in our building and we had to leave,” Aly explained.
“We didn’t just have to leave, we had to run,” Sarah interjected.
“Who prepared our fire plan? We are a kilometer away,” Aly asked, joking about the turn of events.
Later in the episode, Jamie Oliver was quick to poke fun at the mishap.
“First of all, can I apologise for the fire alarm? I sent someone over to make some canapés and look what happened,” the celebrity chef joked.
A post shared on X by the show revealed that a fire alarm went off in the studio, halting the show and forcing its presenters and crew to evacuate the Como Centre in South Yarra, where the show is filmed.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel 10 for comment.
