Katherine Ryan left stranded in unmoored boat on Joe Lycett's new show

For the launch of his new comedy talk show, Joe Lycett invited some friends on as his first guests - a nice way to ease your way into the daunting new gig.

But while stars Joanna Lumley, Alison Hammond and Alan Carr showed up for their pal, Katherine Ryan was a no-show.

It turned out, though, she had an excellent excuse - she was left stranded on a barge.

It all sounds a bit chaotic and, well, that's because it was. Here's how it all went down.

Channel 4's Late Night Lycett is filmed live by the canals in Birmingham so, naturally, Joe had decided to use a barge on the canal as a sort of green room for his guests.

While Katherine was patiently waiting for her scheduled slot on the show, the barge had accidentally been unmoored and started floating down the canal.

Every so often, Lycett and the team would check in on Katherine, who would be hanging her head out of the boat and calling out for help.

"Where does this river even go?" she asked as the unmoored boat floated further and further from land.

"Katherine is technically with us," Joe would explain to viewers, "Just getting further and further… there’s a fast-flowing current tonight."

Eventually, Katherine wound up missing her interview slot entirely, and was still stuck on the barge by the time the show wrapped.

After that mix-up, Joe may need to rethink the layout of his new talk show.

Thankfully, it looks like the comedian did eventually make it back to dry land.

Posting to her Instagram Story at 6.30am Saturday morning with baby Fenna Grace in her arms, she told followers: "Made it off the barge, didn't I?"

She continued: "I have a rule that you should never sleep in makeup and now I have a new rule that you should never drift down a Birmingham canal on a runaway barge when you’re supposed to be appearing live on your friend’s new Channel 4 show."

Given what she's been through in the last 24 hours, that sounds like an excellent life rule.

Although Katherine's chaotic boat ride seemed genuinely unscripted, fans who tuned in on Friday night are raving about the 'best comedy TV moment of the year'.

"Katherine Ryan just helplessly floating away on the canal is killing me oh my god," wrote one viewer.

"I sincerely hope 'Katherine Ryan is booked to be on the show but never makes it' becomes a running gag," tweeted a second.

And a third suggested: "Cancel the awards, Katherine Ryan unexpectedly floating away in a boat from the moor in Brum wearing a fabulous pink feather outfit wins best comedy TV moment of the year."