- Kaley Cuoco paid tribute to her late 8 Simple Rules co-star John Ritter at a charity gala, describing his death as one of the worst days of her life.
- Ritter died suddenly aged 54 in September 2003 after suffering a thoracic aortic dissection - or a tear in the main artery of the heart - while on the set of the US sitcom.
- Cuoco recalled her first encounter with Ritter and described her former TV father as the north star of her career.
- Producers chose not to recast Ritter's character, instead writing his off-screen death into the series and adding James Garner and David Spade to the cast.
- The gala raised awareness for aortic dissection, a heart condition causing around 2,000 deaths in the UK each year.
IN FULL
Kaley Cuoco says death of sitcom dad John Ritter was ‘one of the worst days of my life’
