Alison Hammond: 'I thought I was having heart attack on air'

Hammond returned to This Morning one week after her dramatic early exit

• Published7 minutes ago

Alison Hammond has said she feared she was having a heart attack on air when she had to rush off ITV's This Morning, mid-way through the programme last week.

The presenter appeared to clutch her chest as she left the show last Friday, and was taken to hospital to have a heart check-up.

She turned out to have suffered a panic attack, and said the experience was "probably one of the most scariest things I've ever been through" as she returned to for her next weekly slot on Friday.

She told viewers: "I couldn't catch my breath and I genuinely thought I was having a heart attack. I'm so glad I'm here. I feel so grateful. I feel so thankful to God, to everything in life."

She added: "It felt like a heart attack. It was very real."

Hammond was alongside Dermot O'Leary as usual on This Morning on Friday

Alongside co-host Dermot O'Leary, Hammond introduced the programme by thanking him for holding the fort after her dramatic early exit, and thanking everyone who sent good wishes.

"All I can say is, in that moment, it was probably one of the most scariest things I've ever been through," she said.

The 51-year-old compared the feeling of the panic attack to crossing into a "surreal" place like the otherworldly Upside Down in TV show Stranger Things.

"I felt like I went into the other world - what's that show that I loved? Stranger Things. You know when you go into the Upside Down world? I felt like I went into the Upside Down world.

"I couldn't grasp my breath, and it was a panic attack."

'Like a wave'

She added: "I didn't know. It was the first time I've ever experienced anything like that. Secondly it was live on TV so I thought, oh my gosh, my son might be watching.

"So I just ran. I ran off TV. I would never do that normally but I just couldn't catch my breath."

The panic attack came on very quickly, she explained.

"It just was like a wave, something which I've now found out is adrenaline. That came into my body. I couldn't catch my breath and I genuinely thought I was having a heart attack."

The experience has given her a new perspective on life, she continued.

"I'm so happy that I'm here, and I'm so happy to see you," she said, putting both hands on Dermot's cheeks before hugging him.

"You were absolutely wonderful. And I'm so glad we're alive, and if anything it's made me look at life so much differently. Taking stock, look after my health. I'm drinking a lot of water."

'I'm back, babes'

The pair then spoke further about panic attacks with former BBC Breakfast host and psychologist Dr Sian Williams, who has written a book about anxiety.

Also known as anxiety attacks, panic attacks can affect anyone, regardless of age, background or whether they have a history of anxiety.

According to the MIND mental health charity, panic attacks are an extreme anxiety response. They can develop quickly, and come with very intense symptoms.

These are both physical and mental and the NHS's extensive list of symptoms, external includes:

• Anxiety

• Racing heartbeat

• Feeling faint

• Sweating

• Nausea

• Chest pain

• Shortness of breath

• Trembling

Hammond said she had been unsure about returning to This Morning - but felt that if she didn't come back this week, she may never do so.

"I'll be honest with you, I was anxious about coming back. But I thought, if I don't come back today, I probably wouldn't come back.

"I actually thought, I don't think I'll come back, because then I would have made a thing that it's This Morning that's causing the panic. But it can happen anywhere. It comes in ebbs and flows."

She and Williams also discussed the pressure of presenting live TV. "I do live TV all the time, I didn't realise it was having - I don't know if it was having an impact - the fact that you have to be 'on' in order to do it. I don't know," Hammond said.

She concluded the segment by telling viewers: "I'm back, babes. Keep rolling."

Following her departure from last Friday's episode, Hammond posted a video from a hospital bed saying she was "getting my old ticker checked out" after what she described as "a little bit of a palpitation", which she hoped "was just a little panic attack".

She missed the Attitude Awards on Wednesday, where she won the The Honorary Gay Award.

The Birmingham-born presenter also hosts TV shows including This Morning and For the Love of Dogs.

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