The interview starts going wrong around the one-minute mark, when Mad Men bombshell and Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive, Christina Hendricks, mentions the word “bath.”

Hendricks was appearing this week on one of America’s ubiquitous morning news/chat shows on L.A.’s KTLA.

Brian McFayden, the only man among the four hosts interviewing her, asks Hendricks where she was when she heard about her recent nomination for an Emmy Award.

“I had to be at work really, really early that morning so I was running my bath,” Hendricks starts off. At this point, McFayden can’t be seen. Based on what takes place subsequently, he may have been in the process of fainting.

Hendricks moves on. The three other hosts – young women – get their chance to ask questions.

A minute and 15 seconds later, the inevitable subject of Hendricks’ va-va-voom proportions pops up. And McFayden, unwisely, decides to jump back in.

“I was just going to say that,” he starts excitedly – the first sign of trouble.

“I wasn’t going to be like, oh, I’m hitting on you, but no, you’ve got an amazing body . . .”

Hendricks has presumably been in this awkward spot before. She can see the train wreck approaching, with McFayden wearing the conductor’s cap. She tries to steer him off with a lame joke. He can’t stop himself.

“I’m saying you’re a beautiful woman . . .”

Oh God.

“And like, the bath” – and here the connection between McFayden’s brain and his tongue becomes completely severed – “I mean, um mm, the way you made, and um …”

Nice.

“I’m stumbling on my words,” McFayden says, fanning himself with his notes, while Hendricks watches him sympathetically.

“No, what I’m trying to say is that you were drawing a bath? You were making a bath for yourself?”

The sympathy is draining out of Hendricks’ expression.

“And I was just thinking” – and here, a terrible awareness suffuses the tone of McFayden’s voice. He knows he will never be able to live down what he’s about to say next, but he can’t stop himself – “Wow, that’s awesome.”

This, for one delicious instant, is pure death. Pure, awesome, tape-recorded death.

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Proving McFayden must not be the complete imbecile he is coming off as, one of his co-anchors jumps in (far, far too late) to save him from himself.

“So! Take us back to the Emmy nominations,” she chirps.

Oh, Bryan McFayden. We’re not saying we would’ve done any better. But the rest of us are smart enough not to bother trying.