An opportunistic audience member was used as an emergency guest on television’s Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

Ian Leigh, compere of the Havering Show and frontman of Essex R&B band Dr Zero and the Hotheads, was chosen to take part in the show’s famous identity parade round when the celebrity performer cancelled at the last minute.

The no-show was the first in 18 years of the hit BBC2 music quiz, and forced new host Rhod Gilbert to riff the segment.

Introducing the round, he said: “There’s genuinely a little bit of a problem this week. We had booked the drummer from Bad Manners, but he got the wrong day.”

He and team captain Noel Fielding decided to dip into the audience to find a replacement for Phil Jupitus’ team to try and recgonise, and asked for anyone who had been in a band to step forward.

Ian, sat in the third row, was chosen and made his way down for his TV debut.

“Phil’s team were blindfolded and had to pick me out. They got it wrong, they picked the bloke next to me.”

After the show, Ian got to have a proper chat with the stars of the show.

“They stay behind and have a chat with people, I spoke to Rhod, Phil and Noel, and I gave Phil a CD and DVD of the band.”

Twitter was flooded with tweets about the bands appearance, and their Facebook page gained 500 “likes” as a result of Ian’s new-found fame.

“Facebook went mental,” he said. “And our YouTube account did too, one of our videos, a cover of Nine Below Zero’s Soft Touch, has got more views than the original!

“We’ve recorded two songs in the studio now, we’re just waiting to release them.

“We’ve had a couple of gig offers up north and in Scotland, too.”

Dr Zero and the Hotheads will play The Crown Inn, in Roneo Corner, Hornchurch on January 25, before embarking on a tour around Essex.

For more information on the band, check out their Twitter account at twitter.com/drzeroband.