SYDNEY - Producers of Australia's Next Top Model have been left red faced after supermodel host Sarah Murdoch announced the wrong winner in what newspapers said was the country's most awkward TV moment.

Murdoch, the daughter-in-law of media baron Rupert Murdoch, was close to tears after realising she had mistakenly announced Sydney 19-year old Kelsey Martinovich as the winner of the Foxtel TV series during the live finale.

Martinovich had completed her acceptance speech before Murdoch backtracked on stage to reveal the real winner from a public vote was 18-year-old Gold Coast rival Amanda Ware.

"I don't know what to say right now. I'm feeling a bit sick about this," Murdoch told a 2,000-strong live audience.

"I'm so sorry. Oh my God, I don't know what to say. This is what happens when you have live TV folks, this is insane, insane, insane."

Foxtel is owned by Australian phone company Telstra, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and Consolidated Media Holdings.


Foxtel publicity director Jamie Campbell on Wednesday blamed a miscommunication between series directors in a broadcasting truck control room and Murdoch on stage.

Series judge and fashion designer Alex Perry told Sydney radio that Murdoch had made a genuine mistake, denying accusations in media reports that the bizarre mix-up was a publicity stunt.

"Everybody wants to tag something sinister on it and say it was done for ratings. I know Sarah and I know the executive producer. It's just not their style," Perry said.

Martinovich may have had a short-lived reign as Australia's Next Top Model, but it wasn't all bad news as Foxtel said she would receive a A$20,000 ($19,360) cash prize and trip to New York as consolation, almost matching Ware's series spoils.

Ware won an appearance in Harpers Bazaar magazine, a modelling contract, A$20,000, a trip to New York and a car.

can't get the embed to work, here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqiD0KTZrKE

...and somehow, civilization did not collapse, nor did the world end.

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The forum software has a tag built in - all you have to do is take everthing after the = sign and put in in between this [yt] and this [/yt*] , but remove the asterisk.

the true runner up showed amazing poise and composure and i am sure will have big things for her in the future. if she isn't the epitome of no hard feelings i don't know what is.

that is some great television!!!

That's the kinda shit you want to see when a show is LIVE.

Daddy is going to fire some bastards for that.

"This is what happens when you have live TV folks..."

I think there was a little more to it than that.

I just watched the clip, and all I could think of was Zoolander, right down to the giant picture of the real winner being shown behind the wrong person giving their acceptance speech and that it was even models involved. Awesome TV.

Also couldn't help but notice that Australia actually has attractive models on their version of the show. Still a little too thin, but at least they don't look like 12 year old boys.

Exactly.

It looks phony in the clip, but assuming it's not, yes, the one girl was incredibly gracious and will probably end up more famous in her own country than if she had won.

That said, the real winner was far better looking and looked more like a real model, while I thought the other girl was pretty but didn't have that model look that I cannot articulate but that I'm sure most people don't have a problem understanding.