ITV News’ Rageh Omaar is ‘doing really well’ after he fell ill during a live broadcast last month, colleague Charlene White has revealed.
Viewers were left shocked after the veteran journalist was seen slurring his words as he introduced the last news item on the News at 10 bulletin, with his left eye appearing to droop as well.
Mr Omaar was taken to hospital shortly after presenting the show, and is now at home recovering with his wife.
Some viewers voiced concerns over ITV’s handling of the incident, with broadcasting regulator Ofcom facing calls to investigate the studio’s treatment of the news anchor.
At the BAFTAs last night, Loose Woman and ITV News colleague Ms White said Mr Omaar was ‘doing really well’.
ITV News’ Rageh Omaar presenting the show the night he fell ill. The host was seen slurring his words during the broadcast
Fellow host White pictured on Loose Women last year. The presenter revealed Mr Omaar was ‘doing really well’ at last night’s BAFTAs
Mr Omaar pictured in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2018. Viewers were left shocked after the presenter fell ill as he introduced the last news item on the News at 10 bulletin, with his left eye appearing to start drooping
She told The Sun: ‘I think when he wants to talk about what happened then he will. ITV News is a family, we have been checking up on him daily and continuously in fact to make sure he has the support he needs.’
In a previous statement, Mr Omaar said: ‘I would like to thank everyone for their kindness and good wishes, especially all the medical staff, all my wonderful colleagues at ITV News, and our viewers who expressed concern.
‘At the time, I was determined to finish presenting the programme. I am grateful for all the support I’ve been given.’
Mr Omaar joined ITV in 2010, after becoming a familiar face as a foreign affairs correspondent for the BBC, notably through his award-winning coverage of the Iraq invasion.
He is married to the daughter of a Scottish baronet, Georgina ‘Nina’ Rose Montgomery-Cuninghame. The couple have three children and live in Chiswick, west London.
His rock, Nina, is an instructor in the Alexander Technique, an alternative therapy designed to correct poor posture, and gives both online and one-to-one private lessons at her practice.
She has been a huge support to Mr Omaar throughout his career, including moving with him abroad while he covered foreign affairs.
The couple met while Mr Omaar was at a cousin’s wedding in India.
Speaking of the challenge of having her husband away for long periods of time, Nina had said it was a ‘nightmare’ when Rageh was working in Iraq.
She added at the time she was ‘physically sick’ every morning and the first thing she did each day was put on the news.
Nina’s father, Sir John read politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University and served as a lieutenant in Kenya and Malaysia, before going into investment banking in the UK and Canada.
Some viewers voiced concerns over ITV’s handling of the incident, with broadcasting regulator Ofcom facing calls to investigate the studio’s treatment of the news anchor
After attending the Dragon School, Mr Omaar graduated from New College, Oxford where he studied modern history.
He revealed that his father tried to talk him out of going into journalism, dismissing it for not being a ‘serious profession’.
He started out as a trainee for the Voice newspaper, before he moved to Ethiopia where he freelanced as a foreign correspondent for the BBC.
The update comes after Good Morning Britain presenter Richard Madeley said Omaar should be able to return to screens ‘soon’.
He told viewers: ‘Apparently he’s making a good recovery at home, should be back on screen soon.’
His co-host Susanna Reid that they wished Mr Omaar ‘all the very best’ during the programme.
An ITV statement the day after the incident said: ‘Following medical treatment at hospital, he is now recovering at home with his family.
‘We are wishing Rageh a speedy recovery and look forward to him being back on screen when he feels ready.’