CAT Deeley was reportedly ordered to apologise to This Morning viewers after being slammed for her ‘offensive’ comment.

Presenter Cat, 47, asked show fans for forgiveness on Tuesday following her controversial joke about epilepsy.

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Cat Deeley was reportedly ordered to apologise to This Morning viewers after her ‘offensive’ commentCredit: ITV
During the previous day’s installment, Cat had been seen dancing and shimmying to the Meghan Trainor song All About That Bass, prompting Ben to laugh at her.

She then declared: “Nothing to see here. Yeah, I’m fine, just having a seizure.”

The flippant remark sparked outrage from viewers who either suffer from seizures themselves, or have loved ones who have them.

Epilepsy is a condition of the brain which can disrupt the electrical communication between neurons in the nervous system.

This often leads to seizures, a sudden event that can change a person’s awareness, behaviour or feeling.

The condition is typically diagnosed when a person has two or more unprovoked fits separated by at least 24 hours.

Epilepsy can begin at any age, but it tends to affect people either in early childhood or who are older than 60.

It’s now been claimed show bosses demanded she said sorry on-air, in order to prevent a fresh row from brewing.

A show insider told MailOnline: “This Morning are so worried about offending anybody they asked Cat to apologise, hoping that would be the end of the matter.

“It’s not something she suggested, but understood the decision.

“The show is desperate to avoid any controversy after what’s happened over the past two years.

“But there is a feeling behind the scenes the apology wasn’t overly necessary.”

The telly host admitted she understood why her comment on the show was inappropriate as Ben Shephard agreed with her.

She said: “I really wanted to apologise to anyone I offended yesterday when I made a light hearted joke about my dancing style.

This Morning suffers fresh blow after ratings drop as viewers slam Cat Deeley for ‘cracking jokes at the disabled’
“It was really wasn’t meant to cause any upset to anybody but I can see why that might have been the case, so I do apologise. I am very sorry.”

Ben chimed in: “That would never be our intention.”

And Cat added: “It didn’t come from that place at all.”

The Epilepsy Society also spoke out to slam the moment.

They wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Seizures are no laughing matter for people with #epilepsy @catdeeley.

“Please do better and educated yourselves about this difficult and poorly understood condition, @thismorning.”

Fans also wrote of their disgust, with one tweeting: “This is heartbreaking to see do know there are many types of seizures and to see you mocking people who have them is very upsetting.”

Someone else added: “I have nearly lost my child a few times to seizures and is extremely poorly.

A third chimed in with: “Maybe you should do a story on epilepsy to see what goes on.”

The Sun has contacted ITV and Cat’s representatives for comment.

What is epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a condition of the brain which can disrupt the electrical communication between neurons in the nervous system.

This often leads to seizures, a sudden event that can change a person’s awareness, behaviour or feeling.

The condition is typically diagnosed when a person has two or more unprovoked fits separated by at least 24 hours.

Epilepsy can begin at any age, but it tends to affect people either in early childhood or who are older than 60.

The upset comes after it was revealed ITV’s mid-morning show’s viewing figures had almost halved in two months.

Just over a million saw new hosts Cat and Ben’s first day in mid-March.

But by the same point in May the peak fell to 589,000 – with an average of 486,000 tuning in to the ITV show.

In comparison, BBC1 rival Morning Live had solid figures between one million to 1.4million.

Previously fronted by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, it appears to have fallen into chaos over the past few years.

In May last year, things started to turn sour for the show when Phillip quit after it was revealed he’d been lying about having an affair with a younger member of the production staff.

Holly followed him out the door months later after she was targeted by a man who had plans to kidnap and murder her.

The duo worked together on the show for 14 years and audiences loved their chemistry and genuine friendship.

I nearly died from epilepsy – Cat Deeley should be ashamed of herself

By Anna Roberts

LAST night after I finished work I did something I’ve never done before – complained to Ofcom.

I’ve got occipital lobe epilepsy – epilepsy that starts in the visual lobe of the brain – and take an eye-watering amount of tablets everyday just to stay alive.

It emerged when I was about eight, I had my first tonic clonic seizure at 13 (the kind of seizure you imagine when you think of epilepsy), and it largely vanished at 26 when I started taking antiepileptics.

However, it emerged again six years ago – only I’m not collapsing this time.

Epilepsy is a huge, heavy burden and seizure jokes aren’t funny in the slightest.

Cat Deeley – who I’ve loved since her CD:UK days – ought to be ashamed of herself for making such a crass, ableist remark.

Yesterday on This Morning, while dancing to Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass, she sniggered and said something about ‘having a seizure’.

Well Cat, let me tell you what having a seizure is really like.

It’s dislocated shoulders (four at last count – fingers crossed that’s the end of it after having major surgery), being rushed to hospital because you’ve smashed your head so hard your eyes have haemorrhaged, waking with your mouth full of blood, days off where you can’t go on holiday because you are so tired so you just sleep.

It’s learning the tablets you take to control the seizures mean you won’t ever have children – but what choice do you have?

It’s waking on the floor of a car park at night, not knowing where you are…or who you are.

It’s trying really, really, really hard every day just to level the playing field.

It’s the breakdown of relationships (having a girlfriend with epilepsy isn’t fun).

I know her ‘joke’ was said in jest but it’s time epilepsy was taken seriously.

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It’s now been claimed show bosses demanded she said sorry on-airCredit: Rex