Rageh Omaar receiving care after becoming unwell on air, ITV says

By: The Guardian

The ITV News presenter Rageh Omaar is receiving medical care after becoming “unwell” live on-air, ITV has said.

The ITV News international affairs editor was presenting the News at Ten on Friday evening when he appeared shaky and to be having difficulty reading the news bulletins.

The incident sparked widespread concern from viewers on social media.

“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.”

No further details were given about what happened to Omaar during the broadcast, which sparked widespread concern from viewers on social media.

Omaar finished the broadcast, but a rerun of the programme was pulled from ITV’s +1 channel. A message was shown telling viewers that ITV was “temporarily unable to bring you our +1 service. We will resume shortly.”

Marverine Cole, a newsreader for ITV’s Good Morning Britain, wished Omaar “all the very best” in a message on X. The Channel 4 journalist Ayshah Tull also wished Omaar “a speedy recovery” on the platform, adding that she was sending her “love to his family at what was a very worrying time for them”.

Omaar covers major global news stories as the international affairs editor, and presents ITV’s current affairs programme On Assignment. He joined ITV in 2013 as a special correspondent and presenter for ITV News, before being promoted to international affairs editor the following year.

He began his journalistic career in 1990 at the Voice newspaper in London, before moving to Ethiopia as a freelance foreign correspondent.

A former BBC senior foreign correspondent, Omaar became a household name during the 2003 invasion of Iraq while reporting from a hotel rooftop in Baghdad. He has written a book about the period, called Revolution Day, exploring the impact of Saddam Hussein’s regime and UN sanctions on Iraqi civilians.