TV's top blunder, or stitch up

Martinovich (left) , Van Den Akker, Murdoch and Ware. Photo / Getty Images

SYDNEY - It was one of live television's worst ever blunders - but was it really a blunder?

Despite strenuous denials by all concerned, some questioned yesterday whether the announcement of the wrong winner of the reality show Australia's Next Top Model was not a publicity stunt.

The broadcaster Fox Television insisted that Sarah Murdoch, the show's host, made a genuine mistake when she declared Kelsey Martinovich the victor in a live broadcast from Sydney's Luna Park - only to clutch her head moments later and tell viewers that it was, in fact, Amanda Ware.

Martinovich had already given her acceptance speech when Murdoch, daughter-in-law of magnate Rupert Murdoch, was told through her earpiece Ware had won.

Looking close to tears, she told the 2000-strong studio audience: "I'm so sorry, oh my God ... This is a complete accident ... It's Amanda. I'm so sorry."

While she seemed genuinely flummoxed, Foxtel's explanation yesterday left everyone more confused. Its publicity director, Jamie Campbell, blamed the incident on "a miscommunication between the broadcast truck and the stage".

But he also said that Murdoch, a former model, had earlier been given a card offstage with Martinovich's name.

"She had previously been given the name Kelsey because ... she was the first put through after Sophie [Van Den Akker, the third finalist] was eliminated. So in the heat of the moment ... Kelsey's name was read out."

Martinovich, a 19-year-old Sydneysider, reacted graciously, saying she felt more sorry for Murdoch than herself. Both she and Ware, 18, from the Gold Coast, rejected suggestions that the events were intentional.

However, Edwina McCann, editor of Harper's Bazaar magazine, accused Foxtel of manipulating the result by keeping phone lines open. "They were keen for Amanda to win," she told the Nine Network. "I'm told that it came down to three votes."

Foxtel will compensate Martinovich with a A$20,000 ($26,200) cash prize and a trip to New York.