SYDNEY: The showpiece finale of a popular Australian reality modelling show ended in a toe-curling blunder when the wrong winner was announced on live television.Australia's Next Top Model's two finalists had already made their winner's and loser's speeches when presenter Sarah Murdoch, daughter-in-law of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, revealed the mix-up."Oh my God, I don't know what to say right now. I'm feeling a bit sick about this," Murdoch said during Tuesday's broadcast. "This is what happens on live TV, folks. This is insane, insane, insane."A bewildered Amanda Ware, 18, finally accepted the award and made a brief victory sashay down the catwalk, as 19-year-old Kelsey Martinovich took the bizarre defeat gracefully."It's an honest mistake, it's fine," she said, consoling the red-faced Murdoch.Broadcaster Foxtel blamed the error on a "miscommunication" between backstage operators, and offered Martinovich a cash gift and a trip to New York as compensation.Local media rated the error as one of the most embarrassing moments on Australian TV. "And the next top model is... no, wait a second," headlined the Daily Telegraph.Judge Alex Perry later denied the incident was a publicity stunt to boost the show's ratings."I would stake my life on it," he told Sydney's 2DayFM radio."There's no way that she (Murdoch) would do that. I think you saw that the instant that she knew something was wrong, you could see it in her eyes, that wasn't lying, that wasn't acting."
