Conservative leadership TV debate pulled off air after mysterious crash
A live debate featuring Conservative leadership candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss on news channel TalkTV was abruptly taken off air after a loud crash was heard on-set.
In the few seconds before screens went blank, Ms Truss could be seen stepping off stage with a look of visible concern on her face, and could be heard saying “oh my god”.
The break in transmission came just over half an hour into the hour-long grilling of Mr Sunak and Ms Truss by TalkTV political editor Kate McCann and readers of The Sun newspaper.
Ms McCann’s scheduled co-host, Sun political editor Harry Cole, was earlier forced to pull out after tested positive for Covid-19.
TalkTV presenter James Whale said that Ms McCann had fainted and collapsed while questioning the contenders for prime minister. The show was one of the most high-profile broadcasts of her career, which previously saw her serve as political correspondent for Sky News.
After the programme went down, a spokesperson for TalkTV owners News UK said: “There’s been a medical issue, it’s not a security issue and the candidates are OK. If we can get back on air, we will.”
Sunak and Truss now chatting with the audience at the Talk TV debate pic.twitter.com/NBct9h8K6a
— Katy Balls (@katyballs) July 26, 2022
The channel said that Mr Sunak and Ms Truss remained in the studio after the incident, chatting with audience members off-camera.
