The Project fans have called for the panel show to be cancelled after it was thrown into chaos with an evacuation during a live broadcast.
The long-running program was unexpectedly replaced with an episode of The Dog House Australia on Wednesday, when all Channel 10 cast and crew were ordered to leave the studio.
The broadcast had to be abruptly halted, with host Sarah Harris later confirming it was a false alarm after a smoke detector malfunctioned.
Amid the chaos, viewers were quick to take to social media to share their discontent as they called for the show to be pulled off air permanently.
Some even joked that they had been enjoying watching The Dog House when it was ‘rudely’ interrupted by The Project resuming its broadcast later in the show.
Sharing their unfiltered thoughts, one viewer wrote on Facebook: ‘Keep them off screen permanently.’
While another said: ‘What viewers? It’s the worst current affairs show on TV,’ and a third commented: ‘Who cares? I did not even know it was pulled!’
A fourth added: ‘Oh I thought it was forever gone… So disappointed,’ while a fifth penned: ‘We can only hope and pray it’s cancelled for good.’
The Project fans have called for the panel show to be cancelled after it was thrown into chaos with an evacuation on Wednesday
‘What a disappointment, for a minute I was excited thinking finally The Project has been pulled off air, I keep hoping,’ another wrote.
The Project hosts were forced to dramatically flee the Melbourne set midway through the show when the fire alarm went off.
Viewers were left scratching their heads at 6:49pm when the show hosted by Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris and Sam Taunton suddenly vanished from screens during its ad break, and was replaced with an episode of The Dog House.
As the series that homes unwanted pooches played across the country, a crawl ran along the bottom of TV screens, updating viewers on the alarming turn of events.
‘Due to unforeseen circumstances, please enjoy this screening of The Dog House,’ the vague text read.
One Channel 10 staff member opted to take full advantage of the chaos by turning the bedlam into social media content.
The video showed the crew member exiting the Channel 10 studios as firetrucks pulled up with their lights flashing.
‘The fire alarm has gone off and they’re making us evacuate,’ the crew member began.
‘Seems like fire safety is coming above infotainment. Which seems crazy to me,’ they continued as they walked down a fire escape.
‘But keep in mind that it’s the showbiz rules of evacuation, which means it’s children and celebrities first, then normals.
The broadcast had to be abruptly halted due to the evacuation, with a video showing host Sarah Harris fleeing the studios amid the disruption
‘So, Waleed and Sarah, they’ve been choppered out of here while we’re taking the stairs.’
Later, the panelists were seen running down the street and squeezing into an elevator on their way back to the studio.
The Project continued its live broadcast at 7.10pm, with the hosts detailing what had transpired during the lengthy break.
‘There was a fire alert in our building and we had to leave,’ Aly explained.
‘Not just leave, we had to run,’ Sarah interjected.
‘Who drew up our fire plan? We met up a kilometre away,’ Aly asked, joking at the turn of events.
Later in the episode, Jamie Oliver was quick to take the mickey out of the mishap.
‘First up, can I just apologise for the fire alarm? I sent someone in to do some canapes and look what happened,’ the celebrity chef joked.
A spokesperson from Fire and Rescue Victoria confirmed they responded to a false alarm after a smoke detector malfunctioned.
