When magicians Penn & Teller appeared on The One Show to perform a trick, it didn’t go so well.
The US entertainers appeared on the show alongside presenters Roman Kemp and Angelic Bell to advertise their forthcoming tour, and their part, predictably, began with a card trick.
When Roman and Angellica encountered Penn & Teller backstage, they were astonished to discover them munching on very sloppy burgers.
The TV stars continued to stuff their faces, urging Angellica to take control of the deck of cards and do the trick herself under their supervision.
The meal was clearly a part of the ruse, but things rapidly became tense.
Angellica began the trick by selecting a card from the deck and memorising it before returning it to the deck and randomly rearranging the cards.
The concept was that without touching the cards, Penn (given that Teller doesn’t talk publicly) would be able to inform Angellica where her card was, leading to absolute surprise when the revelation occurred.
Teller, on the other hand, held up the number 14 on his sauce-covered hands to encourage Angellica to count 14 down in the deck.
Except Angellica botched up the maths.
And she chose the wrong card – one that wasn’t hers.
Not once, but two times.
Yes, it was as repulsive as it sounds.
Penn had to inform Angellica that she’d numbered too far down and that her card was, in fact, the one above the one she’d picked out.
‘You counted too far down and missed it!’ said Roman, as Angellica broke out laughing.
Both Roman and Angellica were still quite amazed, but Penn and Teller kept their cool because, well, it’s all in a day’s work!
However, it is reasonable to conclude that spectators were not as enthusiastic.
https://twitter.com/1957RAB/status/1663612113875619840
This is awful viewing.
Absolutely pathetic.#theoneshow pic.twitter.com/ClIsqF3MNS
— Andrew Jazzie (@AndrewJazzie) May 30, 2023
Cringe. Didn't even get the correct card. Ffs#TheOneShow
— Ron (@rkf747) May 30, 2023
When live TV goes wrong. 🤣🤣 #TheOneShow #PennAndTeller
— Jonathan Grieve (@jonniegrieve) May 30, 2023
Reacting to the hilarity, one Twitter user wrote: ‘Did she just screw up the card trick they’ve been rehearsing all afternoon’.
Another branded it ’embarrassing television’.
‘Cringe. Didn’t even get the correct card’, tweeted one.
‘When live TV goes wrong 😂😂’, another joked.
The One Show airs weeknights at 7pm on BBC One.