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Cat Deeley Reveals Terrifying Mall Gun Scare That Drove Her Family Back to Britain
Cat Deeley has revealed the frightening incident involving her former husband Patrick Kielty and their young son that convinced her to leave America and return to the UK.
The This Morning presenter, 49, had enjoyed nearly two decades of success in the United States after becoming the host of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance.
The programme grew into a huge primetime hit and turned Cat into a major American television star. However, her life in the US changed dramatically after Patrick and their son Milo were caught up in a serious security alert at a Los Angeles shopping centre in 2020.
Cat said the experience forced the family to reconsider whether America was still the right place to raise their children.
[CHÈN ẢNH: Cat Deeley looking sombre as she discusses the incident that changed her family’s future]
Patrick and Milo forced to hide
Patrick and Milo, who is now 10, were inside Century City Mall when law enforcement officers arrived carrying weapons and ordered shoppers to take cover because an armed suspect was reportedly on the loose.
The pair were forced to hide inside the kitchen of a Shake Shack while the shopping centre was locked down.
Patrick attempted to remain calm so that his young son would not fully understand the seriousness of what was happening around them.
Cat previously recalled receiving a phone call from Patrick once those inside the centre were being evacuated.
“They shut down the centre,” she said.
“I got a call from Paddy, saying: ‘They’re taking us out through the fire exits but nobody can get to their car. If we walk to a junction, can you come and get us?’”
Although Patrick and Milo escaped safely, the incident left a lasting impression on Cat and contributed to the family’s decision to return to Britain with Milo and their younger son James, now eight.
School visit deepened Cat’s concerns
The presenter said the shopping-centre scare was not the only experience that made her uneasy about raising her children in America.
While visiting prospective schools, Cat was shown a designated safe room where pupils would be taken during an active threat.
The discovery brought the reality of the country’s school security concerns painfully close to home.
“When we were looking around schools, we were shown the safe room children go to when there is a live shooter,” she recalled.
“It made me realise how school shootings are real. They are a problem.”
Reflecting on the wider issue, Cat said she did not believe the United States would change its gun-control laws.
The combination of the mall incident and the security measures she encountered in schools helped persuade the presenter that it was time to bring her family home.
[CHÈN ẢNH: Cat Deeley alongside Ben Shephard, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary as part of This Morning’s presenting team]
Cat rebuilt her television career in Britain
Cat’s return surprised viewers because she had established such a successful career in America.
She had initially crossed the Atlantic to host the second series of So You Think You Can Dance, a move that transformed her professional life and kept her at the centre of US television for years.
After resettling in Britain, she eventually joined ITV’s This Morning, becoming one of the daytime programme’s core presenters alongside Ben Shephard, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
Her personal life later changed again. In July 2025, five years after the family’s return to Britain, Cat and Patrick announced that they had separated following more than a decade of marriage.
The couple married in Rome in September 2012 and share their two sons.
In a joint statement confirming their split, they said: “We have taken the decision to end our marriage and are now separated.
“There is no other party involved. We will continue to be united as loving parents to our children and would therefore kindly ask for our family privacy to be respected. There will be no further comment.”
Despite the end of their marriage, Cat and Patrick made clear that Milo and James would remain their shared priority.
