Alison Hammond has said she had her heart “checked out” after experiencing a “palpitation” but assured fans she is “fine” after leaving This Morning during a live broadcast.
The presenter, 51, was accompanied off set from the ITV programme by colleague Dermot O’Leary on Friday morning while appearing to clutch her chest.
On-air exit and update
The ITV show, which was halfway through a segment about pets, quickly cut to adverts, and returned with O’Leary saying Hammond “is feeling a little unwell” and “had to duck out”.
The 53-year-old said he hoped she would return to finish the broadcast, but later told viewers: “Ali’s feeling a little unwell so I’ll be here for the rest of the show.”
Hospital video message
Hammond assured fans she was fine and joked about still wearing her make-up from the morning in an update to Instagram, filmed while the star was lying down and wearing a hospital gown.
“Hello, my lovelies. I know you’re all worried about me,” she said.
“Honestly, I am fine, first of all, but I’m getting my old ticker checked out.
“I had a little bit of a palpitation, and now I’m getting it all checked out. But I think I’m OK.
“I’m hoping it was just a little panic attack or something like that.”
Career highlights
Hammond expressed her love to her 1.9 million followers as she thanked them for their messages, adding: “I’m so sorry I left you.
“I would never normally do that. I would never leave a TV show – so you know I wasn’t very well.
“Hopefully I’m going to be all right. The doctors are so lovely, and they’re checking me out, and hopefully everything’s going to be fine. I love you.”
Correcting herself, the Birmingham-born broadcaster said: “Everything is fine!
“I’m rocking it. Look how good I look – still got my make-up on from this morning. Lush.”
The TV star jokingly captioned the video: “Anything to have a day off.”
Hammond rose to fame in 2002 when she appeared as a contestant on Channel 4 reality show Big Brother.
She has since featured on programmes including I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing.
She first appeared on This Morning in 2003 and became a co-host in 2021, and is known for memorable TV moments and celebrity interviews such as playing Connect 4 with pop star Beyonce.
Hammond also co-hosts The Great British Bake Off alongside comedian Noel Fielding.
