Susanna Reid made a return to Good Morning Britain on Tuesday morning after almost a week off because of a medical issue.
Last week, the daytime anchor made it into the GMB studio, but not onto the air, revealing she woken up with almost no voice.
In the days that followed, Susanna’s condition worsened, and on Monday she shared with her followers that she was taking another day off after being advised by a specialist “not to risk it until it is better”.
“Sorry I won’t be with you in the morning,” she wrote on Instagram. “Vocal [cords still] affected by mild infection… that I didn’t even realise I had! Need to rest them a little longer.”
Susanna finally returned to the GMB desk on Tuesday, but admitted to co-host Ed Balls she still wasn’t back to her usual self.
“I sound like I’ve been vaping!” she joked. “It sounds like I smoke 20 a day, doesn’t it? It’s so frustrating.”
When the former MP insisted she sounded “great”, Susanna questioned: “Hmmm, like ‘call-line’ great?”
She went on to compare herself to ITV colleague Holly Willoughby, adding: “I think I sound a bit like Holly. You know what I mean? She’s got that little catch in her voice, which is so appealing.
“But about two days ago I sounded like… Holly, but with bronchitis. I had no voice at all on Saturday night. And I don’t really understand what’s gone wrong. I didn’t feel ill, I felt mildly [ill], but nothing you wouldn’t work through.”
She then explained: “I joked [on Wednesday] that it might have been the hot weather, and all the trolls, all the climate trolls came out and said, ‘I can’t believe you’re taking it that far’. Actually, I saw a specialist yesterday, who said it may be that the hot weather meant I just didn’t stay hydrated enough and damaged my vocal cords.”
Last week, Susanna told GMB co-anchors Charlotte Hawkins and Ed Balls: “I don’t know whether it was the heatwave inflaming my vocal cords… It’s funny because, of course, it was the NTAs last night. And when I got in my cab to leave, the driver said, ‘you’re the very first person to leave the NTAs, you’re obviously not partying’.
“And of course, I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. So there’s absolutely no reason I can understand, but I’ve completely lost my voice.”
“I did not want to inflict this on our wonderful viewers for a full three hours,” she then admitted.
Good Morning Britain airs every weekday from 6am on ITV1.