Alison Hammond returns to This Morning after panic attack

Alison Hammond returned to This Morning on October 9, a week after leaving a live broadcast when she struggled to breathe, and said she had experienced a panic attack. She told viewers she initially thought she was having a heart attack. Hammond was back on the programme alongside co-host Dermot O’Leary. She thanked colleagues for covering for her and viewers who had sent messages of support, describing the episode as one of the scariest experiences she had been through. She said it was the first time she had experienced anything like it. Hammond said she could not catch her breath during the previous week’s broadcast and ran off camera because she was worried her son might be watching. She described the sensation as a wave of adrenaline and said she had not known what was happening at the time. Her account was given on air; the reports do not include independent medical records confirming the cause. She also said she had felt anxious about coming back to the programme. Hammond explained that she decided to return because she feared that staying away might make her associate the panic attack with This Morning.