Cat Deeley breaks down in tears as Ben Shephard is forced to take over in emotional This Morning scenes

Cat Deeley broke down in tears on Thursday’s This Morning during a conversation about a hero dog.

The ITV star was talking to a guest about his late dog saving his life when she was forced to hand over her lines to co-presenter Ben Shephard. 

Cat, 47, struggled to get her words out during her introduction for guest Kerry Irving after watching a video of his late dog Max.

With Kerry’s three surviving dogs joining the presenters in the studio and one lying on the sofa with Cat, Ben grabbed her hand in support as he continued with the intro. 

Cat wiped away tears before composing herself with guest Kerry also left emotional as he remembered Max who passed away in 2022 aged 14. 

Kerry told the show how he adopted Max in 2008 to help him with his recovery after he was seriously injured in a traffic collision leading to severe depression. He later trained him as a therapy dog.

Max became an internet sensation after Kerry shared photos of him on social media and the pooch even helped raise nearly £300,000 for charity.

During the pandemic, Kerry live streamed his daily walks with Max to provide comfort to his online fans. 

Kerry appeared on This Morning on Thursday to talk about his new book Forever Max.

Cat got very emotional as she introduced the guest, saying: ‘In 2022, Max sadly passed away at the age of 14 but his legacy lives on, Kerry’s fundraising continues’ to which her voice broke.

She added tearfully: ‘We were talking about dogs in the break.’

Ben then explained Cat’s emotional reaction, saying: ‘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.’

Last September Cat took to social media to share a poignant tribute after the death of her pet dog Lilly, calling her ‘the best companion there ever was.’

She went on to include a snippet written by author Dean Koontz focused on the ‘unbearable price’ of loving a dog.

‘Dogs’ lives are short, too short, but you know that going in,’ it read. ‘You know the pain is coming, you’re going to lose a dog, and there’s going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can’t support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion.