An interview during Good Morning Britain took an unscheduled dramatic turn when everyone had to be evacuated from the London studio after the fire alarm went off.

The studio on the South Bank had to be cleared while hosts Ben Shephard and Susanna Reid were interviewing Emmerdale actors Charley Webb and Anthony Quinlan live down the line from Yorkshire during this morning’s breakfast show on ITV.

Shephard said: "We have a little bit of drama in the studio. I don't know whether the Emmerdale scriptwriters have done something but the fire alarm appears to be going off in the studio which has never, ever happened before."

Reid said: "I'm asking the director - does this mean we have to evacuate the studio. I think if you hear a fire alarm and you're told to evacuate the studio, it's probably a good idea to do so. I'm going to check we have a little bit of stand-by tape to run. If we do that."

You can hear the automated voice on the alarm saying "Leave immediately by the nearest exit".

Reid said to the Emmerdale stars: "Thanks so much for talking to us because we're leaving the studio and that means we're going to leave you with a little bit of what we call in the business stand-by tape."

The show switched from live coverage to a pre-recorded interview within seconds.

Those who were evacuated were outside for about five minutes.

Reid tweeted as soon as they returned, posting a photo of herself and Shephard with the caption: "Back in the building - all fine, only thing lost in the fire alert seems to be Ben's tie."

A member of staff at the building, who did not want to be named, said a "fuse box overheated and went on fire on the third floor". Good Morning Britain is filmed on the third floor, he added.

ITV said in a statement: "It was an isolated incident which was quickly resolved. The building was evacuated as a precaution."