Ashley Banjo was left 'shaking' after a technical blunder left him in the lurch during a hosting gig.
The Diversity legend, 36, was hosting his first-ever Pride of Britain when things took a turn for the worse due to a technical blunder. In an exclusive chat with Daily Star, Ashley recalled the tense moment.
Ashley said: "My first year doing the show, I came on to present my first award, and in your ear, you get a '3,2,1, go' but then I remember not hearing anything, so I just kind of went with it.
"I wasn't getting any I wasn't getting any notes, I wasn't getting any timings. And for the whole show, my earpiece had broken. So I just did the show freestyle.
"Obviously, I was nervous and I remember thinking, 'Oh my god' as I now have to know the entire show off by heart from rehearsal. I was trying to be elegant on the surface, but underneath, you know, you're sort of doing this," as he showed a trembling hand gesture.
He added: "Things do go wrong all the time and they say and do things they're not supposed to do. Things are not in the right place. You know, your earpiece stops working. So it is what it is. You just roll with it. And like I said, it's not about it being a perfect show. It's about the winners."
Ashley began presenting the awards back in 2021 alongside Countdown icon Carol Vorderman who is the "smartest person he knows". Ashley gushed: "She's a veteran and she's so smart. She knows everything including everything about the winners and all of their extended family. She's amazing."
The event will take place on Monday, October 21, and celebrate inspirational heroes from across the nation. He commented: "But the night is not about me. It's not about Carol. It's not about anyone in the audience.
"This is about the people, the winners. I think that helps me stay grounded because if I think about the scale of the event and what needs to go right, I'm like 'Woah'."
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