Kate Garraway was forced to leave Good Morning Britain after losing her voice over the weekend.
The presenter, 59, battled a hoarse voice as she delivered Monday’s news stories on the ITV morning show.
She told co-hosts Ed Balls and Susanna Reid: “I must apologise to you, I'm so sorry. I'm in absolutely no pain, I don't feel unwell, but I talked way too much last week.
“So it's a little bit like the news is being brought to you by Barry White this morning, so I hope it doesn't impede your understanding of the important stories we have.”
Reid wondered if her voice was down to her singing I Know Him So Well alongside Amanda Holden, Paloma Faith, Charlotte Church, and David Olusoga in tribute to comedian Alan Carr, 50, who won the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards last week.
Balls then joked that she may have strained her vocal chords during “excessive Saturday night karaoke,” which she denied.
“I was talking and singing last week! I lost my voice on Friday and Saturday night,” the former Celebrity Traitors star insisted.
“Aled Jones now wants to do a Christmas album with me, and I think, maybe, this is the result of that terror, I don't know. I know it sounds really painful to listen to - I'm sorry - but I'm actually not in pain.”
Weather presenter Laura Tobin suggested she try “hot water, honey and lemon,” to soothe her throat and added jokingly: “And don’t talk.”
Laughing, Garraway quipped: “Not in my nature, Laura!”
Later in the show, Reid told viewers Garraway had gone home and been replaced by Faye Barker.
“As you may have noticed earlier this morning, Kate Garraway had a very hoarse voice; she was belting it out at the National Television Awards last week, and her voice has not fully recovered,” she said.
“So, we have put her on vocal rest, and Faye Barker has valiantly come to the rescue and is here with the rest of this morning's news.”
Viewers took to social media to share their concern, with one writing, “Kate needs to get some strepsils asap,” as another asked: “Is she okay? I don’t think she should have been on air.”
Garraway joined GMB when it launched in 2014 and has had many memorable moments on-air, including a recent clash with a Reform MP.
Richard Tice told her to “get a grip” during a heated exchange last month over Nigel Farage’s absence from the Clacton-on-Sea by-election results.
Farage won with 66 per cent of the votes but did not attend the results declaration in person, claiming he had been alerted to an “organised campaign” to “disrupt and degrade the result” - something police later denied.
Garraway said to Tice on GMB: “Nigel Farage did say that this decision had come after being contacted by Essex Police. So presumably, there was then a conversation with security advisers. What we've been told is that Essex Police didn't tell anybody not to go."
Tice replied: "Seriously, I think you need to get a grip. I'm talking about Nigel's safety, security and remaining alive, and you're playing on minor words by different people who might be giving advice."
Garraway’s co-host Ranvir Singh stepped in to point out that these "minor words" came from a Reform UK spokesperson who told reporters overnight that Essex Police had told them that Farage should stay away due to a credible threat.
Tice refused to answer the question and replied: "You're wasting this interview on a matter which is less relevant than the result.”
