Ben Shephard made a joke about Alison Hammond's on-air panic attack during Monday's This Morning, shortly after the show issued an update on her health. Last Friday, Alison was rushed off the set after clutching at her chest, and a loud retch was heard from off camera. She feared it was a heart attack, but doctors later confirmed that she had suffered a panic attack.
Spider segment prompts joke
At the start of Monday's show, a segment on the rise in house spiders was introduced with a recording of a piercing scream. Host Ben quipped in response: "Was that Alison on Friday, or Dermot when he realised he had to do the show on his own?"
"It's actually spider season," he quickly added.
Health update and all-clear
This came shortly after he and co-host Cat Deeley shared an update on Alison's health. Ben admitted that the show had "a little bit of a scare" on Friday, when Alison was taken off air. Cat then added: "We wanted to start with some good news about Alison. After she felt unwell during the show, she was taken to hospital to get checked but now, thankfully, she's been given the all clear."
Ben shared that Alison was "at home resting and is already feeling a lot better." The show then played an Instagram clip Alison had posted, where she explained what happened.
In the video, she said: "It's all ok, all clear - which would mean I had a massive panic attack on live TV... I mean the shame of it." She continued to praise the team at This Morning and Dermot for how they cared for her. "I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone at This Morning who looked after me and all of your messages," she said. "Dermot has just been incredible."
She finished: "It's really warmed my heart. I mean, I didn't necessarily want to be on the news, but this is a new world to me. I'm going to take stock, get some rest and I'll see you soon. Love ya!" She signed off with blowing a kiss.
Once the video had played, Cat blew a kiss back and Ben added: "And we love you, sending you lots of love. She's sent lots of messages about how supported she is by everyone at home. In fact, she was most disappointed to miss out on Saturday soup!" Cat vowed to make sure Alison got some soup this week.
Hospital update and palpitations
Alison had previously provided an update from the hospital she had been taken to and explained that there were concerns over her heart after she'd experienced palpitations. Joking she would do 'anything to get a day off', she posted on Instagram: "Hello, my lovelies, I know you're all worried about me. Honestly, I am fine. I'm getting my old ticker checked out. I had a bit of a palpitation and now I'm getting it all checked out.
"I'm hoping it was a little panic attack. I love you all, I'm so sorry I left you, I would never normally leave a TV show. The doctors are checking me out and hopefully everything is fine. Everything is fine. I'm rocking it. Look how good I look – still got my make-up on from this morning. Lush."
