Alison Hammond has admitted to being in a 'vulnerable' place as she was forced to miss out on picking up an award just days after she suffered a health scare while live on TV.
During last Friday's (October 2) episode of This Morning, the presenter was quickly escorted off the programme by colleague Dermot O’Leary, while appearing to clutch her chest.
After the ITV show, which was halfway through a segment about pets, quickly cut to adverts, Dermot returned, saying that Alison was "feeling a little unwell" and "had to duck out". He shared his hope for her return, but later told viewers: "Ali’s feeling a little unwell so I’ll be here for the rest of the show."
Hospital visit and panic attack
Alison, 51, later revealed she had been taken to the hospital, but went on to assure fans she was fine and joked about still wearing her make-up from the morning in an Instagram update, filmed while the star was lying down in a hospital gown.
It was then on Saturday (October 3) that Alison revealed she had to leave the set of This Morning after suffering a "massive panic attack". Again, posting a video on Instagram, she said: "Hi everyone. I’m just getting in touch to let you all know I’m home, I’m safe, and I’m feeling so much better."
"Thanks to everyone at the NHS who did the checks on my heart, lungs, bloods. I’m all okay. It’s all clear. Which would mean I had a massive panic attack on live TV. I mean, the shame of it." She continued: "But it felt very real to me. I’m really new to panic attacks, so I need to learn more about it..."
Absent from Attitude Awards
Days on from the incident and on Wednesday (October 7) evening, Alison was absent from the Attitude Awards at London's Roundhouse, where she won The Honorary Gay Award. The TV star selected Kate Lawler to pick up the award in her absence.
As she read out the prepared message from her best pal, Alison apologised for not being able to be at the event and said: "Some of you may have seen I've recently had a very public episode live on television. And let's be honest, if you’re going to have a breakdown, you might as well have it on ITV with loads of people watching."
She went on to mention her This Morning co-star, with Alison saying: "Dermot O’Leary handled it beautifully. Between you and me, I think Dermot deserves his own gay award because he is the gayest straight man on the planet. He is basically an honorary gay already, he just hasn't got the paperwork like me."
Co-star's reaction
Alison went on to say that having her health scare so publicly was "incredibly difficult". Kate then said herself: "I've spoken to Alison since, and it was one of the scariest things she has gone through. She didn't think she was having a panic attack, she thought she was having a f**king heart attack."
