30 August 2023 , 19:58
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Channel 4's studio has been evacuated following an incident as one main news presenter remained on air from another studio.
Staff at the broadcaster's Leeds studio had to leave the building on Wednesday evening over a fire alarm. A West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service fire engine was spotted in attendance at the studio. Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman shared the news on her social media account, while her co-presenter and soon-to-be Strictly star Krishnan Guru-Murthy remained on air.
Sharing a pic of the fire engine, news anchor and Investigations Editor Cathy wrote: "I’m afraid we’ve had to evacuate the Leeds @Channel4News studio because of a fire alarm. My Co-presenter @krishgm is dancing solo right now…" A West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson told The Mirror: "I can confirm we received a call that an automatic fire alarm had been activated today at 19:26 at Brewery Place in Leeds. A crew of four firefighters from Hunslet was on the scene in under five minutes and following confirmation that there was no fire or smoke, the alarm was reset with the crew leaving the site at 19:41."
Cathy shared a picture from outside the studio (cathynewman/Twitter)
News presenter and Strictly star Krishnan Guru-Murthy remained on air from another location (Dave Benett/Getty Images)Krishnan has since explained that while Cathy worked in the Leeds studio, he was presenting from Channel 4's studio in London, meaning that he could remain on air and hadn't breached any fire regulations. Earlier this month Krishnan was announced as the fourth name on this year's Strictly Come Dancing lineup.
Journalist Krishnan said: “I’m surprised, delighted and slightly confused to find myself taking part in Strictly on the basis of ‘you only live once!’ and I can’t wait to start learning to dance, but I am slightly worried about my general decrepitude. I know I’m going to love it and have a brilliant time and just hope I’m not the only one enjoying my participation.”
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Krishnan said he is already "a little worried about his health" as he prepares to start training. "I'm not a very fit person, I'm quiet overweight and I have a heart condition as well so I have to be careful. But it's all going to be fine!" he laughed as the news was revealed on Claudia Winkleman’s BBC Radio 2 show.
The award-winning journalist said he agreed to take part as a fun break from his day job which he described as "incredibly serious and incredibly stressful." Fellow presenter Jeremy Vine, who took part in Strictly in 2015, was on hand to offer advice and told Krishnan the show was "more nerve-wracking than covering a general election ". Krishnan said that his wife and 18-year-old pushed him into saying "yes" after he'd been approached many times before, but his 16-year-old son was "mortified" at the idea of his dad strutting his stuff.
Krishnan admitted that in the time it had taken for him to say 'yes' to bosses and be publicly announced he had already changed his stance on sequins and glitter. "At the beginning, my view was I'm not doing any of that nonsense, I'll be wearing a suit. And then you can kind of think 'Well actually if you're in it to entertain then you've got to entertain. I don't think I could inflict my bare torso on the world though... but the rest of it yes!"
The presenter already has the backing of Strictly's head judge Shirley Ballas, who told the Mirror : "I've got to admit, I am fangirling a little bit over Krishnan (Guru-Murthy) and also Angela Rippon. Don't forget, she was Come Dancing's host all through my career. If her dancing is as elegant as her beautiful voice, then we are in for a real treat. I've watched Krishnan on the news every day for many years, he's absolutely fantastic. I actually can't wait to see him in action. We've got some wonderful people this year, I think you had better strap in for the journey because you just know it's going to be brilliant."
The Mirror has contacted Channel 4 for comment.