ITV is facing fresh scrutiny over its duty of care to news anchor Rageh Omaar after it was suggested he already appeared ill the night before he struggled to speak during a bulletin broadcast.
Viewers were left concerned for the 10 o’clock news presenter as he suffered evident difficulties towards the end of the programme on Friday – and now a channel veteran has said there were warning signs beforehand.
Nicholas Owen, a former ITV News presenter, sent a message of sympathy to Mr Omaar, 56, who has himself thanked the public for their support.
The Mail On Sunday revealed that ITV news bosses did try to get Mr Omaar to hand over his bulletin to a stand-in anchor after he became unwell live on air.
But there are new questions over whether more should have been done to protect him.
Mr Owen, speaking on GB News today, said: ‘Of course I can identify with what happened – I know Rageh very well and he is a very distinguished correspondent and great presenter.
‘You just want to finish the job if you sit in that chair where millions of people and more are watching you and listening to you.
‘I can remember going in the studio once or twice thinking, “Well, I don’t feel particularly 100 per cent today” but usually Dr Studio, if that’s the right term, kicks in – Dr Studio takes over and you get through.’
Mr Owen added: ‘Apparently he wasn’t terribly well the previous night – so perhaps my dear colleagues, and I worked at ITV for many years very, very happily, perhaps they might have stepped in and just insisted he step back?
“I don’t really know, maybe they did – it’s just very hard, especially if he’s done all of the preparation with all of the scripts. We just wish him well, that’s the most important thing.’
Mr Omaar has reportedly insisted that he continued and refused to hand over to a replacement host from the London regional news even though after the show he was taken straight to hospital.
An ITV News source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The programme team were trying to replace him when they realised there was a problem.
‘They sent the standby presenter to the set to take over but he insisted on remaining on air. No one could get him out of his chair.
‘He refused to move. Even when he was told he had to go and that the team had called for medical help.
‘Everyone did everything they could to help him. Rageh is a consummate professional.’
Mr Omaar, ITV News’s international affairs editor, was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital where he then spent the night after staff at the broadcaster called paramedics.
He was discharged yesterday afternoon and was recovering with his family.
One friend of the newsreader suggested he didn’t feel ‘unwell’ while he was stumbling over his words.
Both ITV and Mr Omaar’s family were reluctant to give any details of the cause of his on-screen ailment.
Fiona Clark, a staff nurse, claimed she had called ITV at 10.10pm and told them ‘as an ICU nurse that Rageh Omaar required an emergency ambulance’.
In a statement Mr Omaar thanked the show’s viewers, saying: ‘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.’
But viewers accused ITV News of failing in its duty of care to Mr Omaar – despite not knowing what was happening in the studio.
There were calls on social media for television regulator Ofcom to investigate ITV’s treatment of the Somalia-born presenter.
An ITV News spokesman said last night it appreciated News at Ten viewers were ‘concerned about Rageh Omaar’s wellbeing’.
They added: ‘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.’
MailOnline has approached ITV and ITN for further comment today, while Ofcom said it could not confirm whether it had been contacted by viewers.
Father-of-three Mr Omaar, who studied modern history at Oxford, made his name in his role as a foreign correspondent for the BBC during the invasion of Iraq and the fall of Baghdad in 2003.
In September 2006, he moved to Al Jazeera English, where he presented the nightly weekday documentary series and in January 2013 he became a special correspondent and presenter at ITV.
The broadcaster is married to Georgiana Rose Montgomery-Cuninghame, with whom he has three children, Loula, Sami and Zachary.
After the death of the late Queen Elizabeth, Mr Omaar was also chosen by ITV to cover her funeral on September 19, 2022.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
