Kate Garraway was forced to request her co-star "take over" during a live broadcast of Good Morning Britain.
During Thursday's (March 12) instalment of the ITV breakfast programme, Kate returned to screens alongside co-presenter Paul Brand as they delivered the day's leading news stories from across the UK and internationally.
Nevertheless, one particular segment took an unforeseen twist when they welcomed operatic pop vocalist Russell Watson onto the programme.
The performer joined the show to discuss his current projects, including his campaign to keep an animal sanctuary open, reports the Mirror.
He is raising funds for local charity Animals in Distress as they mark their 60th anniversary of supporting animals. The organisation has initiated a fundraising appeal as they caution the sanctuary faces "dire straits".
Just minutes into the discussion, Kate experienced a coughing episode, forcing Paul to take over. Kate began by stating: "We know that you are helping a charity, can you tell us.."
As she tried to complete her sentence, she was seen covering her mouth whilst coughing as she remarked: "Excuse me, I'm coughing too much."
Addressing Paul she added: "Sorry, you're going to have to take over. Take over Paul and save the day." Russell offered Kate a glass of water as she responded: "Thank you. Such a gentleman."
Paul jumped in and continued the segment and after a few minutes, Kate was back to presenting the show as normal. Earlier this week, GMB descended into turmoil as the programme was forced to come off air early, with staff required to evacuate the studio.
The incident occurred during Monday's (March 9) broadcast, which was scheduled to run for an extended duration from 6am until 10am rather than the usual 9.30am finish, marking the first occasion since the broadcaster introduced various cost-saving initiatives.
For the coming weeks, Lorraine and Loose Women have been removed from the broadcasting schedule completely.
During the programme, Susanna Reid informed audiences that she could detect an alarm ringing in her earpiece. The broadcast then cut to a commercial break, but rather than resuming coverage from the GMB studio, the channel commenced airing This Morning 20 minutes ahead of its scheduled slot.
A Good Morning Britain spokesperson stated: "Due to an unscheduled fire alarm at the Good Morning Britain studio this morning, our team had to leave the set temporarily.
"Whilst they were able to re-enter the building shortly afterwards, the programme had to end earlier than planned. We apologise to viewers for the disruption, with thanks to the This Morning team for appearing on air 20 minutes ahead of schedule."
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX
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