Huyton, Merseyside native and journalist Kate McCann will present TalkTV’s The News Desk on Wednesday evening as planned, filling in for Tom Newton Dunn.
TalkTV confirmed the news on Twitter Wednesday evening:
TalkTV’s Political Editor Kate McCann will present The News Desk tonight at 7pm, filling in as planned for Tom Newton Dunn.
She will be joined by a panel of guests to discuss the day’s politics and the fall-out from yesterday’s debate.@KateEMcCann | @tnewtondunn pic.twitter.com/laBdVlsfyr
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) July 27, 2022
The presenter had raised fears for her health when she collapsed on air during Tuesday evening’s live TalkTV Tory leadership debate. The collapse saw leadership hopeful Liz Truss visibly shocked as she was cut off mid-answer by an off-camera crash, later confirmed to be the sound of McCann collapsing to the floor around halfway through the debate at about 6.30pm.
The broadcast was halted, although Truss and her rival Rishi Sunak continued to chat to the audience and answer questions off-air. TalkTV initially cited a “medical issue,” which is now believed to have been McCann fainting. No further medical details have been released as yet.
McCann’s TalkTV colleague, breakfast show host Julia Hartley Brewer, was among the first to confirm McCann’s status. She Tweeted at around 7pm: “Ok. I’ve been told that Kate McCann is ok. That’s all I know.” TalkTV later confirmed this:
Kate McCann fainted on air tonight and although she is fine, the medical advice was that we shouldn’t continue with the debate. We apologise to our viewers and listeners. — TalkTV (@TalkTV) July 26, 2022
McCann is famously guarded about her private life and little is known of her outside of her work as a journalist.
Her Twitter profile lists her simply as Talk TV’s political editor and “Northerner.” She studied politics at Newcastle University, reportedly as a mature student, before heading to Westminster to serve as a political researcher in 2009, moving to The Guardian as a journalist in 2011. She has served a number of roles in journalism since, including at The Sun and Sky News, although her LinkedIn employment history was last updated in 2015, when she became a senior political correspondent at The Telegraph.
