Jeremy Vine is a regular host on BBC Radio 2 (Image: Stephanie Schaerer/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock)
descended into disarray this afternoon when ‘s show was abruptly interrupted by a fire alarm, leading to an evacuation that lasted nearly 20 minutes. The studio was thrown into turmoil as the fire alarm sounded, prompting an immediate evacuation and the cancellation of a rather ironically timed segment on cremation. In the midst of a discussion with a guest, an urgent announcement instructed staff to “leave the building immediately”.
Jeremy swiftly apologised to listeners before switching to music, which played for the duration of the evacuation. Upon returning to the airwaves, Jeremy explained: “It’s Radio 2. Jeremy Vine here. I do apologise, we did just have a proper fire alarm here. There wasn’t a fire but we had the thing that I’ve not had in 20 years where not just one light goes off but two.”
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He elaborated on the incident, saying, “The orange light which means there could be a fire and then the red light and then the announcement in the studio which looked as if there was one. We came out the building. We stood outside in the sun. There’s no fire. We came back in. Because there is no fire we are going to cancel the item we were doing on cremation.”, reports .
After the disruption, he humorously remarked to a guest, “It was a very impressive evacuation by the , we have got to take it seriously.”
The unexpected break in broadcasting led to a flurry of social media activity as fans expressed their astonishment at the sudden departure from the studio.
One fan took to Twitter, saying: “Fire alarm goes off at the studios of Radio 2 during The Jeremy Vine Show. The building was evaluated for the first time in 20 years according to Jeremy Vine,” while another shared their surprise: “Wow.. Actual dead air live on Radio 2.. Fire alarm goes off at the studios during Jeremy Vine slot and the building’s been evacuated by the guess of it.. Never heard a radio station go silent like that before and now it seems like it’s on auto-pilot..”
A concerned listener expressed worry online: “@BBCRadio2 streaming music whilst off air live.. fire alarm went off according to Jeremy Vine hope all safe!” Additionally, one person commented on the uniqueness of the situation: “This is peak Jeremy Vine no notes.”