The One Show team had to do some fast thinking on Wednesday night when two of its star guests missed their slot due to being stuck in a lift at the BBC studio.
Near the beginning of the show, presenter Alex Jones assured viewers that Sheridan Smith and Stephen Fry would be joining them later in the evening… provided they made it out of the lift they were stuck in, that is.
The Olivier winner and former QI host even posed together for a slightly bemused impromptu photo-shoot, before finally making it into the studio in the nick of time.
“Santa’s sleigh ride got a little stuck,” Stephen joked after finally making it into the studio. “I think the reindeer were drunk or something.”
He added: “Usually if I get stuck in a lift I assume it’s my weight, but this is a goods lift! So I don’t know what went wrong.”
The pair revealed they “kept their spirits high” throughout the drama, with Sheridan insisting the pair “laughed” the experience off.
And given Sheridan’s history of appearing in dramas for the BBC, ITV and even Channel 5, fans on social media couldn’t resist making the same joke during the real-life drama that played out on Wednesday night…
Here are some more of our favourite reactions from X (previously Twitter)…
Sheridan was visiting The One Show to discuss (you guessed it!) her new drama The Castaways on Paramount Plus, in which she plays a plane crash survivor.
Meanwhile, Stephen is promoting his new game show Jeopardy, which is a remake of the long-running popular American series of the same name.