Carrie Bickmore debuts brown hair on The Project, says her son asked 'when is old mummy coming back?'

The Project viewers had to do a double take last night when a brunette appeared on the panel. Wait, that was host Carrie Bickmore!

The 35-year-old Gold Logie winner changed up her signature blonde locks, but her eight-year-old son Oliver ("Ollie") isn't sold on the new look just yet.

"I had the same colour hair for 35 years and I was bored, and I thought, Why not? So I'm giving it a whirl," she told her co-hosts.

"My son's not dealing with it well quite yet. He keeps on looking at me and saying, 'When is old mummy coming back?'"

Awww, we're sure he'll get used to it. The colour change was for hair brand Garnier Nutrisse, for which Carrie is the ambassador.

Her son certainly had a better reaction than her guest host, shock-jock Steve Price, who made this jab: "Are we throwing it open to a poll?"

Carrie clearly wasn't a fan of that idea, and we don't blame her.

The pair butted heads again later in the episode after she called him a "wanker" when he revealed it would "not be a problem" for him to spend $3000 on a truffle.

One viewer wrote on Twitter: "Can Carrie please explain 'wanker' to my kids who just heard her say that? Way to go, Carrie."

Another tweeted that they were "disappointed with the professionalism" of The Project host.

Oh well, the cycle of internet outrage continues.