Tonight’s Conservative Party leadership debate between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak has been scrapped after presenter Kate McCann fainted during the live broadcast.
Mrs Truss put her hands to her face and said “Oh my God” after hearing a loud crash, and then the contest was pulled from the air.
TalkTV said Ms McCann was “fine” but the channel had received medical advice not to continue.
“We apologize to our viewers and listeners,” he added in a statement.
When the debate stopped, a message on TalkTV and The Sun’s stream read: “We regret the interruption of this programme.”
Truss and Sunak TV debate halted after studio incident: Live updates
The channel began broadcasting again soon after, but moved to a different studio with presenter Ian Collins saying there had been a “medical problem”.
He said: “Everyone is fine so that’s the good news. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are still currently in the studio chatting to readers and answering these questions.”
A Sun spokeswoman confirmed the incident was halted due to a “medical issue”, adding: “We hope to be back on air soon.”
But TalkTV later tweeted that Ms McCann, its political editor, was not expected to return to air.
Image: The debate was removed after the incident
Ms McCann was due to appear alongside The Sun’s political editor Harry Cole, but today tested positive for COVID-19.
He tweeted to say he was “so proud” of his friend, who was “absolutely on top of him”.
Rishi Sunak also sent his well wishes to the presenter, tweeting: “Good news you are on the mend @KateEMcCann.
“It was a great debate and I look forward to grilling you all again shortly.”
And Liz Truss said: “Relieved to hear that Kate McCann is well. So sorry that such a good debate has to end. We look forward to catching up with Kate and the rest of the team again soon.” .
Image: Talk TV debate
The incident came as Mr Sunak and Ms Truss clashed once again over tax, NHS funding and the economy in their second live televised debate.