Katie Piper has revealed she has been forced to withdraw from her ITV breakfast show this weekend to recover from an 'unexpected medical procedure'.

The Loose Women panellist, 40, took to her Instagram on Saturday to share the news with her 1.1 million followers, with Charlotte Hawkins stepping in to host at the last minute.

Katie wrote: "Sadly, I'm not going to be on my breakfast show this weekend as I've had to have an unexpected medical procedure. All is well, and I hope after some rest I'll be back in the hot seat next weekend!"

The star had been hosting the second series of her ITV talk show, which airs every Saturday and Sunday morning at 8:25.

The author has not provided any more details about the procedure. However, in 2023, Katie endured several months of issues with her eye.

In December 2023, Katie revealed that she was forced to have her eye sewn shut to allow it to heal.

Katie told her fellow Loose Women panellists: "I had a planned procedure called a tarsorrhaphy, which is a semi-permanent closure of the eye. So, it's an operation done in theatre and your eye is sort of fully or partially stitched up.

"Some people might be familiar with it; you normally see it when somebody has some kind of disease of the cornea. And closing the eye gives it the optimum environment for it to heal.

"I've had quite a lot of problems with my eye in the last year-and-a-half. I don't like to go on about it because there's always somebody worse off!"

Katie added: "It's been quite painful, so it's quite a relief for me to finally have it stitched up because it's a lot more comfortable.

"It's not permanent; it's probably going to be like this for a year, and then hopefully I can have it opened."

This came after she shared in June that her eye haemorrhaged while she was filming a documentary.

The TV personality explained to the Daily Star at the time: "While filming, I was unfortunately going in and out of hospital because I had a problem with my eye. It burst, and I had a haemorrhage.

"I'm already blind in one eye, so any other attack or injury may leave me permanently blind. Safety is always key within a prison environment. I know it sounds selfish, but I was worried about my own injuries, which present vulnerabilities."

Katie continued about her ordeal: "It was scary. But then I knew I had to put myself in that environment to cover this subject properly."

The previous month, Katie revealed she had undergone an operation to fix a defect in her left eye, informing fans that she had a tissue graft.

Sharing a photo of herself and her team, she said on Instagram at the time: "Back with my brilliant team @centreforsightuk yesterday."

She explained: "I’ve had a defect for many months now, so today I had tissue grafted onto my left eye to avoid perforation.

"I never stop being amazed by what can be done with the eyes, especially with such extreme injuries. I’m a complex patient, but my consultant @sherazdaya always has a plan to help me and my eye."

In 2008, at the age of 24, Katie was the victim of a horrific sulphuric acid attack when a man she'd dated for only two weeks raped her, then paid a hitman to attack her.

Subsequently, Katie lost the sight in one eye and has battled to maintain the health of her other eye, but she did not let that deter her from finishing the project.