Madonna falling off stage at the Brit Awards is one of the most shocking live TV gaffes ever, but it somehow managed to completely pass the hosts of the show by.

Ant and Dec have revealed they had no idea Madonna had been dragged off a podium as she closed the show at the 2015 event, after a wardrobe malfunction involving her cape. 

The pair told Digital Spy they only realised she had taken a tumble when it made headline news after the ceremony. 

Recalling hosting the ceremony, Ant McPartlin said: “We were like,‘Ladies and gentlemen, here she is to finish off – Madonna!’ We’re like, ‘Brilliant.’ Job done. Glass of champagne. Celebrate. High-five each other.

“We walk back to the dressing room, because we’re like, ‘We don’t have to do anything after this. Brilliant. We’ve landed the plane. We’ve done it. Great. We’ve done this live. Fantastic.’

“We go into our dressing room. We’re sat there, chatting to the director of programmes from ITV at the time, hobnobbing away. News at Ten comes on. Lead story: ‘Madonna takes a tumble at the Brits.’

“We’re like, ‘You what? What? She did what?’ It completely passed us by!”

Madonna had taken to the stage to perform her single Living For Love at the climax of the 2015 Brits when she was pulled down a flight of stairs that made up part of the stage in the opening moments of her performance. 

After a tense few moments, the Queen Of Pop got up to carry on with the rest of the song like a true professional. 

She later insisted she was fine and that her cape had been tied too tight, causing her to fall when the dancers tried to pull it off. 

“Nothing can stop me and love really lifted me up,” she said afterwards.  “Thanks for your good wishes!”