diff --git a/explorer/tests/test_views.py b/explorer/tests/test_views.py
index 1127d179..cb0f7790 100644
--- a/explorer/tests/test_views.py
+++ b/explorer/tests/test_views.py
@@ -109,6 +109,11 @@ def test_playground_renders_with_posted_sql(self):
         self.assertTemplateUsed(resp, 'explorer/play.html')
         self.assertContains(resp, 'select 1;')
 
+    def test_query_with_no_resultset_doesnt_throw_error(self):
+        query = SimpleQueryFactory(sql="")
+        resp = self.client.get('%s?query_id=%s' % (reverse("explorer_playground"), query.id))
+        self.assertTemplateUsed(resp, 'explorer/play.html')
+
     def test_admin_required(self):
         self.client.logout()
         resp = self.client.get(reverse("explorer_playground"))
diff --git a/explorer/utils.py b/explorer/utils.py
index 691976a0..25013d53 100644
--- a/explorer/utils.py
+++ b/explorer/utils.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ def execute_query(sql):
 
 def execute_and_fetch_query(sql):
     cursor, duration = execute_query(sql)
-    headers = [d[0] for d in cursor.description]
+    headers = [d[0] for d in cursor.description] if cursor.description else ['--']
     data = [[x.encode('utf-8') if type(x) is unicode else x for x in list(r)] for r in cursor.fetchall()]
     return headers, data, duration, None