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 its presenter Rageh Omaar to hand over his bulletin to a stand-in anchor after he became unwell live on air, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

News at Ten viewers were left concerned for the presenter after he began to struggle with his words during an item on weekend leisure time near the end of the programme on Friday.

But Mr Omaar, 56, 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.

'He was determined to finish what he had started. It was an awful, awful night.'

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 but experts have said the presenter exhibited signs of a mini-stroke, called a transient ischaemic attack (TIA). 

It is caused by a temporary disruption in the blood supply to part of the brain caused by a travelling blood clot or the 'furring' of the arteries.

Fiona Clark, a staff nurse, claimed she had called ITV at 10.10pm and told them 'as an ICU nurse who worked in strokes that Rageh Omaar required an emergency ambulance, he was dysphasic, drooped left eye, slurred speech and agitated all Fast symptoms'.

The Fast acronym – which stands for face, arms, speech and time – is a test to quickly identify if someone is having a stroke.

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.'

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.