SATURDAY Kitchen was left in chaos as celebrity guest Ben Miller was a no show after sleeping through his alarm.
The Cheshire-born actor was absent from the opening segment of the live BBC One programme – hosted by Matt Tebbutt, 51.
The mishap came after a huge BBC shake-up – which saw BBC Breakfast finish early and the Saturday Kitchen start time tweaked to 930am rather than 10am.
And the 30-minute difference was crucial for Ben, 59, whose absence swiftly sparked banter on the foodie series.
Matt quipped how the Death In Paradise actor could “turn his hand to anything – except setting his alarm clock.”
He then added: “Ben Miller is on the way I promise. He’s joining us live any minute now.”
And right on cue, two minutes and 30 seconds into the episode, he rushed on set and promptly gave Matt a hug.
The Primeval star was met by Matt’s greeting of: “Good Lord! Thank you for joining us.”
Ben, dressed in a black top and tan jacket, flashed a smile before he covered his face with his hand and said: “Awkward, awkward!”
Matt then joked: “I bet you haven’t done that walk of shame for a while!” to which he replied: “I have excuses if you want to hear them.”
He continued: “I had too many very strong tonic waters last night … no no, honestly, I don’t drink.
“That’s not the reason. I have jet lag … like I said I have as many excuses as you like.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Saturday Kitchen’s Matt Tebbutt reveals his heartache after the deaths of seven colleagues from BBC show” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6358165248112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]He then quipped: “The alarm didn’t go off.”
Ben then told how his food heaven was Middle Eastern food and hell was kimchi.
SHAKE-UP
The BBC Breakfast programme change – which saw the show wrap at 930am instead of 10am – also sparked knock-on effects for weekend TV staple Saturday Kitchen.
BBC Breakfast viewers tuned in to the daily programme at the regular 6am time slot to see Charlie Stayt, 62, fronting the BBC One show alongside Sarah Campbell, 50.
Yet after a jam-packed show, it was revealed it would wrap half an hour early.
As the clock struck 930am Sarah told viewers: “That’s all from Breakfast for today.”
Charlie then added: “Enjoy whatever you’re doing for the weekend, goodbye now.”
This meant Saturday Kitchen then kicked off at 930am instead of 10am, with the show running until 11am.
From then, Football Focus took over before space was created in the schedule for a 10-minute news segment at 1130am before live coverage of the Women’s League Cup Final was due to start at 1145am.
