Rageh Omaar is 'recovering at home with his family' following hospital treatment after falling ill and struggling to speak on News At Ten - as ex-ITV news presenter says TV bosses should have pulled him off air

ITV News journalist Rageh Omaar is recovering at home with his family following hospital treatment after falling ill and struggling to speak while presenting the News at Ten on Friday.

'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,' he said in a brief statement shared this afternoon.

'At the time, I was determined to finish presenting the programme. I am grateful for all the support I've been given.'

'We appreciate viewers of last night's News At Ten were concerned about Rageh Omaar's wellbeing,' read a statement from an ITV News spokesperson shared with the comment.

'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.'

Rageh Omaar, 56, was presenting last night when he appeared to have difficulty reading his lines, leading to widespread concern among viewers that he needed to have been taken off air.

The veteran journalist continued through to the end of the show before signing off, but ITV later redacted its re-run on ITV+1 and confirmed Omaar had become 'unwell while presenting... and is now receiving medical care'.

Viewers took to social media to express their concerns about how the ailing newsman was allowed to continue to the end of the show, visibly affected in his presenting.

Angus Walker, an award-winning correspondent formerly with ITV News, took to Twitter / X to suggest in his time with the company protocols were in place for editors to intervene if a presenter fell sick.

'Wishing #RagehOmaar well. On a Fri eve the ITV News newsroom is pretty empty even as News at Ten is on air but there is a duty Editor on call precisely to make any big calls,' he said.

'I've been asked to step in for a colleague who fell ill just before going live - can and has been done.' 

ITV News confirmed yesterday Omaar had fallen 'unwell' and was 'receiving medical care' but did not provide any further details. 

Omaar was presenting the News at Ten programme on Friday evening when he appeared to struggle to introduce a bulletin.

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

The credits continued for nearly 20 seconds as the camera stayed focused on the presenter.

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

Viewers immediately took to social media to share their concern for Omaar, with one ICU nurse claiming to have contacted ITV News as early at 10:10pm to warn them of possible stroke symptoms.

Investigative Journalist Mark Williams-Thomas wrote: 'It was clear #RagehOmaar was not well last night, that's when you need people in the gallery to step up, go straight to VT . 

'It certainly looks like paramedics were called and he was take to hospital. I wish him well and ITV News will now need to review this to ensure welfare issues spotted and dealt with earlier.'

Broadcaster India Willoughby wrote on Twitter/X: 'Hope [Rageh Omaar] is ok - one of my fav newsreaders.

'Worrying to see what happened - but unfair to blame those in the [ITV News] gallery for carrying on. 

'It's live tv, maybe only 2 people in the gallery on a Fri eve. 

'Sure they will have asked if ok. Get well soon Rageh Omaar'

Fiona Clark, a staff nurse, claimed that she had called the broadcaster at 10:10pm and told them that 'as an ICU nurse who worked in stroke that Rageh Omaar required an emergency ambulance, he was dysphasic, drooped left eye, slurred speech and agitated all FAST symptoms'. 

Clark wrote on Twitter/X: 'Unfortunately something I [have] seen regularly as a stroke nurse, absolutely shocked at the lack of urgency to get medical attention.'

'After speaking to other experience[d] stroke nurses he was most definitely a positive FAST call, hoping he is receiving the proper care now.'

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

Face weakness, Arm weakness and Speech problems indicate Time to call emergency services, per the mnemonic.

'I told them their presenter was unwell, they told me they were aware,' Clark claimed.

'wishing Rageh Omaar a speedy recovery, but was so disappointed in itv news for not taking this poor man off air who was clearly very unwell!' one viewer wrote.

Rosa Zambonini wrote on Twitter/X: 'Sending so much love to Rageh Omaar, it was clear he was very poorly. 

'Seeing many people including stroke nurses called ITV immediately and kudos to them for taking action. 

'Whatever happened it would awful to watch for his friends and family, sending positive thoughts'

'We are aware that viewers are concerned about Rageh Omaar's wellbeing,' an ITV News spokesperson said last night.

'Rageh became unwell while presenting News at Ten on Friday and is now receiving medical care. He thanks everyone for their well wishes.'

ITV+1 also pulled the programme from its re-runs, as a message on screen said: 'We'll be back soon. We're temporarily unable to bring you our +1 service. We will resume shortly.'

As of Saturday morning, the ITV X website did not display the ITV News at Ten show. 

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

Mr Omaar is married to Georgiana Rose 'Nina' Montgomery-Cuninghame, the daughter of Sir John Montgomery-Cuninghame of Corsehill, the baronet - an aristocratic title below baron - of Cuninghame of Corsehill.

The couple share three children, Loula, Sami and Zachary and were last known to be living in Chiswick, west London.

One of five children, Mr Omaar was born on July 19, 1967 in Mogadishu, Somalia to mother Sahra and father Abdullahi Omaar, a businessman.

His father was an accountant before setting up several businesses in Somalia. Speaking to the Guardian in 2017, he said he had a contract with Massey Ferguson tractors, introduced Coca-Cola to the country and also started Somalia's first independent newspaper.

The journalist arrived in London UK at the age of six in 1974, where he was educated at the Dragon School, a private prep school in Oxford, before being enrolled in top public school Cheltenham College.

He then went on to study a degree in Modern History at New College, Oxford.

Mr Omaar said that although his father founded a newspaper, he did not want his son to become a journalist as he did see it as a 'serious profession' and said he should study law.

But undeterred, the international journalist started his career in journalism working as a trainee for The Voice newspaper, before getting a job with the BBC, working in Ethiopia in East Africa.

He then came back to London a year later after getting a job as a producer and broadcast journalist for the corporation.

Mr Omaar rose to global prominence through his work as a foreign correspondent for the BBC during the invasion of Iraq and the fall of Baghdad in 2003, and his work was widely syndicated across the US, earning him the moniker 'Scud Stud'.

The name derives from the Soviet-developed Scud ballistic missiles which were frequently used in the Middle East since the 1970s. They were kn

He has won numerous awards for his exceptional work during this time, including a Peabody Award for his reports for the BBC from Sudan and a BAFTA for the BBC's coverage of the invasion of Afghanistan in which he was the only western TV journalist to report from inside Taliban-held Kabul.

There, Omaar was the only western TV journalist to report from inside Taliban-held Kabul. The missiles became known in the West after Iraq fired dozens of them at Israel and Saudi Arabia in 1991 during the Persian Gulf War.

After this he worked at Al Jazeera International from 2006-2010, where he presented the nightly weekday documentary series Witness, serving as a Middle Eastern correspondent for its London Division. 

He joined ITV News as a special correspondent and presenter in January 2013, reporting on a broad range of news stories, as well as producing special in-depth reports from all around the UK and abroad.

Mr Omaar was then promoted to International Affairs Editor for ITV News in 2014.

Mr Omaar, who was educated at Oxford University, made his name as the 'Scud Stud' for his widely hailed coverage of the Iraq War as BBC world affairs correspondent.

Mr Omaar is married to Georgiana Rose 'Nina' Montgomery-Cuninghame, the daughter of Sir John Montgomery-Cuninghame of Corsehill, the baronet - an aristocratic title below baron - of Cuninghame of Corsehill.

The couple share three children, Loula, Sami and Zachary and were last known to be living in Chiswick, west London.

One of five children, Mr Omaar was born on July 19, 1967 in Mogadishu, Somalia to mother Sahra and father Abdullahi Omaar, a businessman.

MailOnline contacted ITV News for comment.