Yahoo News This Morning's Cat Deeley breaks down in tears as Ben Shephard forced to take over
ITV This Morning's host Cat Deeley was moved to tears during an emotional segment on Thursday, leading co-host Ben Shephard to step in. The 47 year old presenter found herself overcome with emotion during a heartfelt discussion about a guest's late dog who had saved his life.
During the show, Cat and Ben, 49, were joined by three dogs in the studio, one of which shared the sofa with them as they spoke to guest Kerry Irving. The conversation revolved around Kerry's late pet Max, fondly remembered as the miracle dog, who sadly passed away in 2022 at the age of 14.
Kerry adopted Max in 2008 after a serious traffic accident two years prior left him battling severe depression. Photos of Max enjoying his walks quickly gained popularity on social media, turning the dog into an internet sensation and helping raise nearly £300,000 for various charities, including PDSA.
Max's contributions didn't go unnoticed; he won the animal equivalent of an OBE and even has a statue in his honour in his hometown of Keswick, Cumbria. In 2016, Kerry trained Max as a therapy dog and used their daily walks as a Facebook Live event during the pandemic, providing comfort during lockdown and raising almost £1m for charity.
On Thursday's episode of This Morning, Kerry paid tribute to Max and discussed the new book, Forever Max, reports the Mirror.
Cat broke down in tears during an emotionally charged episode as she introduced guest Kerry, saying: "In 2022, Max sadly passed away at the age of 14 but his legacy lives on, Kerry's fundraising continues". Fighting back tears, she said, "We were talking about dogs in the break. Er, he's got the spaniels, carry on, you read.."
Co-host Ben took over the introduction, presenting three dogs and sharing that Kerry has released a celebratory book about Max. Offering an explanation, Ben stated: "The reason Cat is getting upset is because the idea of losing a dog, you lost a dog you still think about all the time."
Amidst the interview, Kerry too became emotional, posing the question to Cat: "We're not going to cry, are we Cat", to which Cat steadfastly replied: "No, I'm definitely not going to do that! " Viewer emotions ran high as well with one saying: "Awful losing a dog mine was 16 when we had to put her to sleep #thismorning", while another chimed in saying: "Dogs always know when someone is pain and needs comfort. They are such special animals. So glad this man and Max found each other and Max's legacy will always live on. What a beautiful, emotional story. #ThisMorning."
