Saturday April 27, 2024
International affairs editor became unwell while presenting News at Ten on Friday
ITV said Rageh Omaar ‘thanks everyone for their well wishes’. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The ITV News presenter Rageh Omaar is receiving medical care after he became “unwell” live on air, ITV has said.
Omaar was presenting the News at Ten programme on Friday night when he appeared to struggle to read the news bulletins, sparking concern online.
“We are aware that viewers are concerned about Rageh Omaar’s wellbeing,” an ITV News spokesperson said.
“Rageh became unwell while presenting News at Ten on Friday and is now receiving medical care. He thanks everyone for their well wishes.”
It is not clear what happened to Omaar, 56, during the broadcast.
However, ITV pulled the show from its scheduled reruns on ITV+1, with a message instead telling viewers that ITV was “temporarily unable to bring you our +1 service. We will resume shortly.”
Omaar is responsible for covering major news stories around the world as ITV’s international affairs editor, while also presenting ITV’s current affairs programme On Assignment.
He has previously been a senior foreign correspondent for the BBC. Omaar rose to prominence during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, reporting from a hotel rooftop in Baghdad.