The One Show’s biggest blunders – from Gary Barlow’s walk-out to Matt Baker’s jaw-dropping question
THE ONE Show has been on air for 17 years, so it’s no wonder things have gone a little bit awry on set sometimes.
Here, we run down some of the programme’s biggest shocks – from Gary Barlow walking off to Matt Baker‘s seemingly shocking question to the PM.
Gary Barlow walks off
Gary Barlow once walked off The One Show mid-interview because he was worried about fainting live on air.
The Take That singer was part way through an appearance on the BBC programme in 2017, alongside his bandmates Howard Donald and Mark Owen, when he said he was feeling unwell.
Mark was speaking when Gary suddenly declared: “Can I leave you two to it? I don’t feel very well.”
The studio went quiet as Gary quickly exited and, as Angela Scanlon went to continue the chat, Mark said: “I feel a bit weird now,” and followed him out.
Looking bemused, Howard told a worried looking Angela: “He’ll be alright.”
She quickly managed to pick up where she left off and jokingly told Howard: “You’re used to people dipping in and out,” in reference to Robbie Williams and Jason Orange leaving the band.
Gary later admitted he’d taken a funny turn because of the heat of the band’s dressing room.
He tweeted: “Thank you all for the messages. I’m absolutely fine.
“We had a very hot dressing room and I thought I was going to faint on live TV!”
Matt Baker asks David Cameron how he sleeps at night
At the end of a 2011 interview with then-Prime Minister David Cameron, Matt had one final question to ask.
Going off-script, he asked, “How do you sleep at night?” much to the surprise of viewers.
The politician replied, “Erm, I’ve always been able to sleep okay. At the end of the day, if you are exhausted, you’ll make rotten decisions.”
Alex later insisted on the Off Menu podcast that he hadn’t meant to be rude.
She said, “I don’t think he meant it [like], ‘How do you sleep because of all this terrible stuff going on in your mind?’
“I think he meant, ‘Because you’re so busy, do you sleep? You’re running a country, how do you sleep?’ And I think Matt ran with it because it was a bit cooler, the other version. But who knows what was in his brain at that time.”
Matt assumes Mary J Blige’s mum is dead
Matt left viewers cringing when he assumed Mary J Blige‘s mum had died, back in 2019.
Rapper Mary had been speaking about how her mother Cora is her “hero” and explained how she couldn’t “live out her dream” of pursuing music due to falling pregnant at a young age.
That prompted Matt to ask: “And how much of your success did she get to see?”
“All of it,” said a baffled Mary. ”She’s here!”
Matt hastily apologised, with Mary adding: “Oh yeah, she’s living! My mom is living!”
Car crash magic trick
Film director Spyros Melaris failed miserably when he attempted a magic trick live on the show five years ago.
He had been discussing the secrets behind his 1995 film, Roswell Alien Autopsy, before going on to try the stunt.
He pulled out a piece of rock that he claimed was from an extra-terrestrial crash site in Roswell, New Mexico.
The filmmaker subsequently directed Samantha Womack to place the rock on one of three envelopes she felt drawn towards.
But it all went awry when his fellow guest failed to select an envelope with a picture of an alien inside.
Melaris blamed her for choosing the “wrong” one, insisting it wasn’t his fault.
Alex Jones snubs star guest
Alex suffered an embarrassing on-air blunder as she “snubbed” an A-list star in July.
Alex and her co-host Jermaine Jenas introduced US actresses Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman to the show to promote their new film Project: Lioness.
The Hollywood starlets made a grand entrance into the studio together.
As they came in, Zoe approached Jermaine to shake his hand before sitting down, and then attempted to shake Alex’s.
But things quickly turned awkward when Alex unintentionally embarrassed Zoe and ignored her gesture.
Alex went in for a hug with Nicole instead.
Jermaine intervened for a second handshake with Zoe in order to diffuse the uncomfortable moment.
Jermaine shrugged off the error and stated: “Oops, I’ll just do it again.”
Mel Brooks slams the show live on air
Comedian Mel was left puzzled over The One Show’s contrasting segments when he appeared on the sofa in 2017.
The star couldn’t contain his bewilderment when Matt introduced an emotional story about a family reunion as, just moments before, they’d been talking about toilet paper.
He bellowed, “What a crazy show this is!” – prompting the studio crew to burst into laughter.
Fellow guest Russell Crowe explained: “This is kind of like the sponsors break, they have to do something serious, and they’ll be back… shortly.”
But Alex jumped in: “Let’s focus on Patricia now.”
Lewis Capaldi makes X-rated blunder
Lewis left fans stunned after making an X-rated comment live on air last October.
The Scots star joined Alex and Roman Kemp on the show following the success of his latest track Forget Me.
But right at the start of the interview, Lewis left fans open-mouthed after a rude remark.
Alex congratulated the singer-songwriter on another number one hit single as they introduced him.
This prompted Lewis to joke: “Just another one for the collection.”
But then in a more serious note, he added: “I’m chuffed to buggery because it was nerve racking.
“But it’s good to be back and it’s good to be amongst friends and it’s good to be out the house.”
The hosts, alongside Amanda Holding, initially let the cheeky comment slide and ignored it before going on to talk about the music video.
But when Lewis got up off the sofa a little bit later to perform his song for the first time live, Alex apologised for the language.