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Cat Deeley's major change to her living situation to protect her children's safety

The This Morning presenter decided to leave Los Angeles in 2020 after a terrifying shooter scare

Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty attend the 2019 Baby2Baby Gala presented by Paul Mitchell on November 09, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
Georgia Brown
Senior Lifestyle & Fashion Writer
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Cat Deeley was dubbed a "breath of fresh air" by This Morning viewers following her presenting debut on Monday. 

The ITV star, who has hosted So You Think You Can Dance in the US since 2005, joined the This Morning team after the shock departure of presenting duo Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby earlier this year.   

Cat's return to UK screens comes after she spent 15 years living in Los Angeles in a £3.8 million home with her husband Patrick Kielty and their two sons; Milo, six, and James, four. 

WATCH: Cat Deeley shares rare glimpse of her living room at former LA home

The former Fame Academy star moved back to the UK in 2020, putting down £4.9 million for a fixer-upper project in Hampstead, London, and securing planning permission to transform it into a lavish mid-century style modern home.

Cat and Patrick's decision to uproot their family's lives in LA came after a horrifying incident that put their family under threat.

Recalling the terrifying moment, Cat told You magazine that her husband called her from a Shake Shack restaurant after he hadn't returned from playgroup with their son, Milo. 

The TV presenter revealed that her son and her husband had been out for burgers when they were forced to lie behind the counter after a shooter scare. "As I was driving I began to see helicopters, news vans, firemen and Swat squads," she revealed, admitting she hadn't appreciated the enormity of the situation at the time.

Cat Deeley with her two sons, James and Milo
Cat and her husband Patrick used to live in LA with their sons, James and Milo

 In an interview with Stella magazine, the former SMTV Live presenter said: "They had been in a Shake Shack in Century City Mall and there was a shooter scare. Everyone was either told to lie behind the counter or pushed into the loos. People were screaming and crying. Then as they were all hiding, the FBI turned up with guns."

Cat Deeley wears a cream suit and poses in a living room© Instagram
Cat now lives in North London with her family after relocating in 2020

The star continued: "Paddy kept Milo calm – he didn't really know what was going on – and in the end it just turned out to be a suspect package but… Milo [was] three years old. Something like that has happened to him. The gun laws in America are crazy." 

SEE: Cat Deeley's sparkling engagement ring from Patrick Kielty is astonishing

Cat went on to admit that the experience and dangers with guns in the country did make her consider moving back to the UK.

View post on Instagram
 

"It's something we are thinking about. It's going to be a tough decision," she said at the time.

Patrick Kielty and Cat Deeley arrive on the red carpet ahead of the 20th Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards ceremony at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre© Getty
Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty tied the knot in 2012

"We are based there but Paddy mainly works here so he goes back and forth, but we can reserve that. Things change when you have children."

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