How do you gracefully exit a car and make sure your little dress doesn't reveal too much?

Lily Allen gave onlookers more than they bargained for while leaving her black Mini Cooper in London yesterday when her above-the-knees red number rolled up to show a pair of black stockings underneath.

However after a rash of female celebrities going commando in recent weeks - namely Jemina Khan and Jerry Hall - it's a relief the petite singer remembered to wear her underwear.

The Smile star's fashion fax-pas occurred as she left her vehicle on a busy day of shopping and recording in London.

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There's something stocking about Lily...

The petite singer gave onlookers an eyeful as she attempted to exit her Mini Cooper while on a visit to the shops in London's trendy Primrose Hill area

However Allen's sartorial mishap was a distant memory at last night's Elle Style Awards held in the Capital and attended by an array of A-listers, such as Kylie Minogue and Keira Knightley.

The star's look harked back to 1950s glamour, adopting an Audrey Hepburn-esque beehive and flowery dress - this time with no stockings in sight.

It's been a tumultuous start of the year for Allen, who suffered a miscarriage, and has split from boyfriend Ed Simons, of the Chemical Brothers.

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At least the Smile star was wearing underwear - unlike some of her contemporaries such as Britney Spears

Her venture into the world of TV presenting has attracted strong criticism after a third of the studio audience walked out of the recording of the all-important first programme, complaining it was "horrible" and "limp".

The reaction to her show for BBC Three is a heavy blow to the BBC, which has placed the singer's Lily Allen And Friends at the heart of a major revamp of the £83million-a-year channel.

BBC Three has come under fire from many quarters as a waste of money, and even BBC veteran John Humphrys has called for it to be scrapped and the money diverted to news and current affairs.

Friday's recording at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, does not augur well for the series – especially as the 150 audience members had been specially invited from among Allen's online "friends".

One of the fans who walked out said: "Everyone really, really wanted it to work for Lily. She is such a lovely person but all the jokes fell flat and she seemed very nervous. It just did not work.

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Not a stocking in sight... A glammed-up Lily at last night's Elle Style Awards in London

"I do think she's got a nice voice but she didn't sing at all. I think everyone was expecting she would."

Off-camera, the 22-year-old, who was wearing a slinky red off-the-shoulder dress, admitted she was nervous of her first test as an interviewer, quizzing guests Cuba Gooding Jnr, comedian David Mitchell and the band Reverend and the Makers.

As well as her inexperience, Allen had to fight technical glitches including a jammed Autocue, which left her reliant on handwritten cue cards.

One guest said: "We were all standing about, getting quite tired.

"She was halfway through her interview with David Mitchell when she seemed to forget the questions and launched into an attack on all the horrible things people had written about her on online chat forums.

"It was terrible. Even David Mitchell had to remind her not to criticise the very people who would be watching the show."

Allen then showed a series of internet videos showing animals having sex. Cuba Gooding Jnr summed up the mood when he told the audience: "I don't know what's sicker, animals having sex or you clapping."

Another guest said: "We were all told when to clap and laugh but a lot of people, including me, were very uncomfortable. Much of the humour was very limp."

The show aims to tap into Allen's popularity on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace, which helped launch her music career.

As well as recruiting the audience online, fans were invited to submit questions for Miss Allen to ask, and add their own profiles to the show's website.

However, an hour into filming about 50 members of the audience had left and by the end, the studio was a little over half-full.

One BBC source said: "You have to have a brilliant wit and be a real quick thinker to handle a show like this. It's a huge responsibility for someone so lacking in TV experience.

"It's cruel to heap so much responsibility on one girl, especially at a time when she has had such unhappiness in her private life."