Sarah Welch

Famous models from Naomi Campbell to Carrie Bradshaw have made embarrassing missteps on the catwalk. But model Sarah Walsh beat them all when she fell through a hole during an LA Fashion Week show (Oct ober 2007).

A video of Walsh's dramatic drop - a sensation on YouTube - shows her walking the runway at last week's presentation of the fashion line Shadang.
She stares blankly ahead, not noticing the gaping hole left where a martial arts performer had cracked open the floor with a flip.

``As a runway model, you have to keep your head up, you know,'' Walsh told KABC-TV. ``So I didn't look down for a hole, particularly.''

Then came the plunge. In the video, the crowd is heard howling with apparent shock. Walsh, waist-deep in the hole, struggles to lift herself out, and is helped by actor Jimmy Jean-Louis, who modelled at the event. She regains her footing and exits stage left, raising her fist to seemingly signal that she is OK.

The video of the tumble has had more than 1 million views.

Walsh, now an Internet celebrity, has a good sense of humour about it.

``I hope that they're enjoying this entertainment,'' Walsh says. ``It is just a really funny mishap. And I hope they're enjoying watching it just as much as I am.''

HILLANDGLEN