Alison Hammond has spoken candidly about the frightening health scare that forced her to dash off the set of ITV’s This Morning midway through a live broadcast, revealing she genuinely believed she was suffering a heart attack.
The 51-year-old presenter walked off camera last Friday after suddenly experiencing chest tightness and severe shortness of breath. Medical staff subsequently examined her at a hospital, where tests confirmed that the episode had been an intense panic attack rather than a cardiac emergency.
A Sudden Wave of Panic
Returning to her usual Friday hosting slot beside Dermot O’Leary, Hammond took time at the start of the programme to explain what happened behind the scenes. She described the ordeal as one of the most terrifying moments she had ever faced.
“I couldn’t catch my breath and I genuinely thought I was having a heart attack,” Hammond told viewers. She recalled how a sudden rush of adrenaline overwhelmed her while the cameras were still rolling. Instinct took over, largely driven by worry for her teenage son.
“It was the first time I’ve ever experienced anything like that,” she said. “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 physical sensation felt completely alien. Hammond likened the sudden shift in perception to falling into an eerie alternate reality, comparing it to the Upside Down in the sci-fi series Stranger Things.
Facing the Studio Once More
Stepping back into the London studio was not an easy decision. Hammond admitted she felt considerable dread about sitting back on the famous blue sofa. Still, she worried that delaying her return would only cement a lasting fear of her workplace.
“I was anxious about coming back,” she said during the broadcast. “But I thought, if I don’t come back today, I probably wouldn’t come back… because then I would have made a thing that it’s This Morning that’s causing the panic.”
During the episode, Hammond and O’Leary explored the mechanics of severe anxiety alongside psychologist and former BBC broadcaster Dr Sian Williams, who has written extensively on stress management.
Distinguishing Panic from Cardiac Trouble
Dr Williams pointed out that acute panic attacks mimic life-threatening cardiac events remarkably closely, which often causes sufferers to spiral further into distress.
- Speed and onset: A panic attack can strike without an obvious emotional trigger, essentially pushing the nervous system into overdrive.
- Duration: Most anxiety episodes peak and run their course within five to twenty minutes.
- Physical symptoms: Both conditions involve chest pressure, racing pulses, and tingling, but heart attack pain typically radiates down the arm or up toward the jaw and will not ease using grounding or breathing exercises.
- Demographics: While panic attacks can happen to anyone of any background, clinical data shows women report them more frequently than men.
Williams stressed that grounding techniques—such as noticing physical surroundings and taking deliberately slow, steady breaths—can help reset the nervous system once the initial adrenaline rush subsides.
Taking Stock and Moving Forward
The scare forced Hammond to pause a relentless work schedule. Aside from her daytime duties on This Morning, she co-hosts Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off and fronted ITV’s For the Love of Dogs. Earlier in the week, she had to skip the Attitude Awards, where she won the Honorary Gay Award, while resting at home.
Before Friday’s broadcast, she appeared via video link on Lorraine, poking fun at the situation with a lighthearted parody of Holly Willoughby’s well-known 2023 on-air address by asking the audience, “Are you OK?”
Sitting next to O’Leary, Hammond clasped his face in gratitude for taking over the broadcast alone after she fled the set seven days prior. The close call, she said, offered an unexpected reminder to slow down, hydrate, and listen to her body when pressure mounts.
“I’m so glad we’re alive, and if anything it’s made me look at life so much differently,” she said, before flashing her trademark grin to the crew. “I’m back, babes. Keep rolling.”