Should Adele have been cut off at the Brit Awards?
In a year where no one bared their bottom at another performer, no buckets of water were thrown over VIP politicians and, sadly, the host was so polite as to be almost strait-jacketed in his repartee, all the controversy this year's Brits can muster is over an acceptance speech being cut short.
Adele had just been presented with the biggest award of the night, for Best British Album, for her world-conquering 21, and had barely begun to make her emotional thank you speech - she was 12 seconds into it - when host James Corden cut her short with a "I'm sorry, I can't believe I have to do this..." and hustled her off the stage.
Adele responded with a swift finger gesture, which she later apologised for, saying it was "for the suits, not her fans".
It wasn't Corden's fault, and he sounded just as sorry as Adele afterwards.
He obviously had an irate producer's voice in his ear, telling him to get a move on to make time for the presentation of Blur's Outstanding Contribution to Music, and for their 11-minute montage set (unprecedently long, in the history of the Brits) scheduled to close the show.
Adele's fans have been swift to defend their idol, blasting Twitter with comments deriding the decision to cut her off in favour of a band not seen in the charts for the best part of two decades.
However, the problem came about because the show was being broadcast live on the ITV network which is under more pressure than the BBC to reach the 10 0'clock news on time. The commercial station has to accommodate both timed and priced ad breaks and regional opt-out points.
Last week’s BAFTA Awards on BBC1 also over-ran its time slot, but there were no signs of stars such as Meryl Streep being cut off in their prime, because the show was not broadcast live but delayed by an hour, giving producers time to edit the boring bits out and leave the most powerful speeches in to be heard in their full glory.
A senior live TV director last night bemoaned the decision for ITV to broadcast live AND try to hit time slots: "Either go live and run late, or pre-record and edit. It's a simple choice."
Should Adele have been cut off? Does the programme need to be broadcast live? Let us have your thoughts below...
Adele, Rihanna and all the other stars of the Brit Awards 2012 on the red carpet: