News presenter Rageh Omaar is currently receiving medical care after he became “unwell” live on air during last night’s News at Ten programme.
The ITV journalist appeared to begin struggling to speak as he read the bulletins on Friday night. The 56-year-old’s demeanour sparked widespread concerns from viewers who then took to social media to share the footage.
Omaar, who serves as International Affairs Editor, has thanked everyone for their well wishes via a statement issued by ITV this morning, the BBC reports.
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The broadcaster has not released any further details of Omaar’s condition or what happened to him during the broadcast. However, the re-run of the broadcast on ITV +1 was pulled with a short message telling viewers that ITV was “temporarily unable to bring you our +1 service”.
Here’s everything we know about News presenter Rageh Omaar.
Who is Rageh Omaar?
Rageh Omaar is International Affairs Editor of ITV News and presents the channel’s flagship News at Ten programme and current affairs programme ‘On Assignment’.
He first rose to prominence covering the war in Iraq for the BBC in 2003. He now covers major news stories across the world for ITV News and also presents current affairs programme On Assignment.
As a leading international news presenter, Rageh has reported some of the highest profile global events over the past 15 years, having previously worked as a senior BBC foreign correspondent.
Rageh became the face of the BBC Television News during the invasion of Iraq and the fall of Baghdad in 2003. During the conflict his reports were syndicated across the United States by ABC News and he quickly became a known face world wide.
Rageh’s wife and children
Rageh lives in London with his wife and three children – Loula, Sami and Zachary.
The presenter is married to Georgiana Rose “Nina” Montgomery-Cuninghame, the daughter of Sir John Montgomery-Cuninghame of Corsehill. The couple live in Chiswick, West London, with their young family.
Rageh maintains close contact with his family in Somalia, he is an activist for the Somali community, and regularly attends its lectures and events.
Career highlights
The presenter has won several international awards including a Peabody Award for his reports for the BBC from Darfur and a BAFTA for the BBC’s coverage of the invasion of Afghanistan, amazingly, he was the only western TV journalist to report from inside Taliban-held Kabul.
The presenter has travelled across and reported from regions all over the world, from the Balkans to South Asia, he has extensive knowledge and experience of the Middle East and Africa where he has lived and worked.
Rageh has also made numerous documentaries including the BBC’s landmark series “The Life of Muhammad”. He has written two books; ‘Revolution Day’ on the invasion of Iraq and ‘Only Half of Me’, on growing up as a British Muslim.
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