‘Embarrassed and bruised’ Kate McCann returns to air after collapsing in Tory leadership debate

‘After all the excitement of last night, thank goodness I’m now sitting down,’ journalist jokes

An “embarrassed and bruised” Kate McCann has returned to the TalkTV studio after she dramatically fainted during the Tory leadership debate between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss.

The face-off between the two remaining No 10 hopefuls was brought to an abrupt halt when the journalist collapsed off-camera while Ms Truss was speaking.

Viewers heard a loud crash and saw a visibly concerned foreign secretary mouth the words “oh my God” before stepping away from the podium where she had been speaking.

Seconds later, the show - which saw readers of the newspaper pose tough questions to Ms Truss and Mr Sunak directly - disappeared from screens.

Opening a panel discussion on Wednesday reflecting on Tuesday’s head-to-head, Ms McCann, the channel’s political editor said: “After all the excitement of last night, thank goodness I’m now sitting down.”

She continued: “There was plenty of speculation in the run up to last night’s Sun Showdown debate about whether anyone would be the victim of a knockout blow. What no one predicted was that it might well be the presenter.”

Asked by The Sun’s deputy political editor, Kate Ferguson, how she felt today, Ms McCann replied: “A little embarrsed, a little bit bruised. But glad to be back and totally fine.”

The fainting incident was “not necessarily what any of us expected last night,” she said.

“It was one of those moments that no one can really prepare for.”

“I think both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were a bit shocked by it. But good of both of them to agree to a re-match at some point. Hopefully we’ll be able tie down a date for that.”

Posting on Twitter earlier on Monday, Ms McCann said: “Well that wasn’t how last night was supposed to end.”

“Thanks everyone for the lovely messages – I’m fine now – and apologies to @trussliz and @RishiSunak for cutting the debate short.”

Announcing her return to air on Wednesday evening, she quipped: “yes, sat down”.

The TalkTV journalist was moderating the debate on her own after her scheduled co-host, Sun political editor Harry Cole, tested positive for Covid-19.

The remaining two Tory leadership contenders each posted messages of support to Ms McCann following the incident and have said they will take part in a new debate.