Anger at News at Ten bosses for allowing Rageh Omaar to continue on air when he fell ill and struggled to speak – as intensive care nurse reveals she RANG ITV telling them he should be pulled off air straight away

ITV News has been criticized for its decision to allow presenter Rageh Omar to continue presenting the News at Ten after he became ‘unwell’.

Rageh Omaar, 56, was presenting on Friday when he appeared to have difficulty reading his lines, sparking concern online.

Omaar continued until the end of the show before signing off. ITV later edited the scheduled repeat on ITV+1 before a spokesperson confirmed that the presenter had ‘become unwell during the presentation… and is now receiving medical care’.

Users took to Twitter/X to express their concerns and share well wishes. One user wrote: ‘Rageh Omaar was clearly struggling on Thursday evening (24 hours before) – big questions about duty of care here.’

Another wrote: ‘Regarding scenes on ITV News last night and wishing Rageh Omaar a speedy recovery.’

‘Why didn’t ITV stop the broadcast immediately and provide assistance?’ the user continued.

Fiona Clark, a staff nurse, claimed that she called the broadcaster at 10.10pm and told them that ‘as an ICU nurse working on a stroke, Rageh Omaar required an emergency ambulance, he had dysphasia, a drooping left eye, slurred speech and caused all the FAST symptoms’.

ITV News confirmed Omaar had become ‘unwell’ but gave no further details.

Omaar presented the Nieuws bij Tien program on Friday evening when he appeared to have difficulty introducing a bulletin.

The International Affairs Editor continued to the end of the segment, thanking viewers before the credits appeared.

The credits last almost 20 seconds while the camera remains focused on the presenter.

News at Ten usually runs for 30 minutes from 10pm.

Viewers immediately took to social media to share their concerns about Omaar, with an ICU nurse claiming to have contacted ITV News as early as 10.10pm to warn them of possible stroke symptoms.

Investigative journalist Mark Williams-Thomas wrote: ‘Clearly #RagehOmaar wasn’t feeling well last night, that’s when you need people in the gallery to step up, go straight to VT.

“It certainly appears that paramedics were called and he was taken to hospital. I wish him well and ITV News will now have to review this to ensure welfare issues are identified and addressed earlier.”

Broadcaster India Willoughby wrote on Twitter/X: “Hope [Rageh Omaar] is okay – one of my favorite newsreaders.

‘Concerned to see what has happened but it is unfair to blame those in the situation [ITV News] gallery to continue.

“It’s live TV, maybe just two people in the gallery on a Friday night. Of course they will have asked if it is okay. Get well soon Rageh Omaar’

Fiona Clark, an ICU nurse, wrote on Twitter/X: ‘Unfortunately something I [have] regularly seen as a stroke nurse, absolutely shocked by the lack of urgency to get medical help.’

‘After talking to other experiences[d] Stroke nurses, he was definitely a positive QUICK call in hopes that he is now receiving the proper care.”

FAST is an acronym used as a test for symptoms of a possible stroke.

Facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems indicate time to call emergency services, according to the reminder.

“I told them their presenter was unwell, they told me they knew,” Clark claimed.

“We are aware that viewers are concerned for the welfare of Rageh Omaar,” a spokesperson for ITV News said last night.

‘Rageh became unwell on Friday during the News at Ten presentation and is now receiving medical care. He thanks everyone for their well wishes.”

ITV+1 also pulled the program from repeats, when an on-screen message read: ‘We’ll be back soon. We are temporarily unable to offer you our +1 service. We’ll continue soon.’

As of Saturday morning, the ITV X website was not showing the ITV News at Ten show.

Omaar, a Somali-born British journalist, rose to worldwide fame for his work as a foreign correspondent for the BBC during the invasion of Iraq and the fall of Baghdad in 2003.

He won numerous awards for his exceptional work during this time, including a Peabody Award for his reporting for the BBC from Sudan and a BAFTA for the BBC’s coverage of the invasion of Afghanistan.

There, Omaar was the only Western TV journalist reporting from Taliban-occupied Kabul.

He then worked at Al Jazeera International from 2006 to 2010, where he hosted the nightly, weekday documentary series Witness and served as the Middle East correspondent for the London division.

He joined ITV News in January 2013 as a special correspondent and presenter, covering a wide range of news stories and producing special in-depth reports from across the UK and beyond.

MailOnline contacted ITV News for comment.