Card machines at the M&S Bank Arena experienced mass failure in the middle of the Have A Word podcast live show on Friday night.
People attending the live show were unable to make purchases for around one hour due to problems with the Arena's card services provider.
One guest, Ian James, said: "M&S Bank Arena is a joke, every till says contactless only, every screen says contactless only. Wait over 30 mins to be told Cash Only. No signs anywhere, no announcements. Poorly ran."