Alison Hammond Reassures Fans She’s “Fine” After Mid-Air Hospital Dash From This Morning

Alison Hammond has told fans she is “fine” after an alarming live-television moment on Friday, when the This Morning presenter was helped off set mid-broadcast appearing to clutch her chest, before being taken to hospital for a heart check-up.

The 51-year-old was presenting the ITV daytime show alongside her regular Friday co-host Dermot O’Leary when she left abruptly at around 11:30 BST during a segment about pets. The broadcast had begun at 10:00, with no early indication of trouble until Hammond exited the set and did not return.

O’Leary addressed her absence as soon as the show came back from its next ad break, telling viewers simply that “Alison is feeling a little unwell, so she’s just had to duck out. Hopefully she’ll be back.” Moments later, he confirmed she would not be returning for the remainder of the episode, adding, “so I’ll be here for the rest of the show.”

Hours later, Hammond posted a video to her Instagram Stories from a hospital bed, still dressed in a gown, to put concerned fans at ease. “Hello, my lovelies,” she began. “I know you’re all worried about me. 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.”

True to her famously warm, self-deprecating on-screen persona, Hammond couldn’t resist a joke even from her hospital bed — the clip was overlaid with the caption “Anything to have a day off.” She also pointed out, laughing, that she still had her television make-up on from earlier in the day. “Everything is fine, look. I’m rocking it. Look how good I look,” she said.

She was keen to apologise to viewers and colleagues for cutting the broadcast short. “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,” she said. “But 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.” She also thanked fans for the “lovely messages” that flooded in once news of her exit spread.

Hammond has become one of British television’s most recognisable faces over the past two decades. She first found fame as a contestant on Channel 4’s Big Brother before going on to appear on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing. She joined This Morning as a permanent co-host in 2021 and was part of the presenting team that won a National Television Award for best daytime programme the following year.

She has since broadened her presenting portfolio considerably, taking over as co-host of The Great British Bake Off in 2023 to widespread praise for what critics called a “joyous” debut, and stepping into the hosting role on For the Love of Dogs in 2024 following the death of Paul O’Grady.

No further details have been released about the results of her hospital tests, and ITV has not issued a separate statement beyond O’Leary’s on-air comments. For now, Hammond’s own message — delivered with her trademark humour from a hospital bed — appears to be the final word: she is resting, under observation, and, by her own account, very much “fine.”