How Rageh Omaar refused ITV chiefs’ request to hand his bulletin over to a stand-in anchor even as he was struck by mystery illness live on air

ITV news bosses tried to get presenter Rageh Omaar to hand over his bulletin to a stand-in anchor after he became unwell on live television, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

News at Ten viewers were left concerned about the presenter after he began struggling with his words during a weekend free time item at the end of the program on Friday.

But Mr Omaar, 56, insisted he carried on and refused to hand himself over to a replacement regional news presenter in London, even though he was taken straight to hospital after the show.

An ITV News source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The program team tried to replace him when they realized there was a problem.

‘They sent the standby presenter to the set to take over, but he insisted on staying 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 attention. Everyone did everything they could to help him. Rageh is a consummate professional.

‘He was determined to finish what he started. It was a terrible, terrible night.’

Mr Omaar, International Affairs Editor of ITV News, was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital where he then spent the night after the broadcaster’s staff called paramedics. He was discharged yesterday afternoon and was recovering with his family.

A friend of the newsreader suggested he did not feel ‘unwell’ as he stumbled over his words. Both ITV and Mr Omaar’s family were reluctant to give details of the cause of his on-screen illness, but experts have said the presenter showed signs of a mini-stroke, called a transient ischemic attack (TIA).

It is caused by a temporary disruption of blood flow to part of the brain caused by a traveling blood clot or the ‘calcification’ of the arteries.

Fiona Clark, a staff nurse, claimed she called ITV at 10.10pm and told them ‘as an ICU nurse working in stroke, that Rageh Omaar needed an emergency ambulance, he was dysphatic, had drooping left eye, slurred speech and had all rapid symptoms. ‘.

The abbreviation Fast – which stands for face, arms, speech and time – is a test to quickly determine whether someone is having a stroke.

In a statement, Mr Omaar thanked viewers of the show, saying: ‘I would like to thank everyone for their kindness and well wishes, especially all the medical staff, all my wonderful colleagues at ITV News and our viewers who have expressed their concerns.

‘I was determined at the time to complete the presentation of the programme. I am grateful for all the support I have received.’

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 Somali-born presenter.

Regulator Ofcom has faced calls to investigate ITV’s treatment of the Somali-born presenter

A spokesperson for ITV News said last night that it appreciated that News at Ten viewers were ‘concerned for the welfare of Rageh Omaar’.

They added: ‘Following medical treatment in hospital, he is now recovering at home with his family. We wish Rageh a speedy recovery and look forward to him returning to the screen when he feels ready.”

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.

Following the death of the late Queen Elizabeth, Mr Omaar was also chosen by ITV to cover her funeral on September 19, 2022.