Karl takes a tumble on Today

Breakfast television took a tumble this morning with TODAY host Karl Stefanovic and former Olympian Libby Trickett attempting to perform a "human hamster wheel".

The acrobatic trick involves two people coming together to form a wheel and rolling in a straight line, which could have proved difficult given Karl’s admission he had never even done a somersault.

After some coaching from professional gymnasts, the pair managed to complete one rotation of the manoeuvre before they both came crashing down.

TODAY’s attempt at the “human hamster wheel” was sparked by a somewhat more successful attempt by US talk show host Jimmy Fallon and film star Halle Berry earlier this week.