An insurmountable problem with studio cameras scuppered the broadcasting of Midday on TV3 yesterday.
Presenter Elaine Crowley shared a photograph of herself and her panelists - Michelle Jackson, Santina Lowe, Aisling Cleary, and Tina Kourmarianos - make-up complete, looking suitably glum with her message: "All dressed up and nowhere to chat."
A problem with the studio cameras emerged just before the show was due to go live.
Regular fans of the popular show had to make do instead with an unplanned showing of an episode of Cowboy Traders.
TV3 confirmed that technical difficulties were responsible for the show failing to go out live. They said fans could look forward to seeing it back on their screens Monday.
Elaine and her panellists have built up a loyal following in tackling the hot topics and trends of the day with live feedback from viewers.
Geraldine Lynagh, of TV3, tweeted "major technical problems. Hoping news will be okay. Tune in at 12.30 to see if it is."
Friday's show had planned to deal with a number of topics, including older women and sex.
A message promoting the doomed show had declared: "It turns out older women are having a lot more sex than people think."
viewers
Tina Koumarianos had informed viewers the previous day that issues due to covered included the issue of a minimum age to marry. And is it possible to shrink a bust size without surgery.
"It was too late to do anything about it so we decided not to air today and get the issue fixed and go back on Monday," a TV3 spokeswoman told the Herald .
"Things will be back up and running as normal on Monday," she added.
The popular show has been a mainstay of afternoon viewing from 11.30am to 12.30pm on weekdays.
It has been broadcast since September 2008. Journalist and newsreader Elaine (37), a native of Cork, has presented since 2010.
In May, she joined TV3's Lisa Fitzpatrick, Martin King and Alan Hughes to abseil from the top of Croke Park stadium, dressed as superheros, to raise much needed money for the Laura Lynn children's hospice charity.