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ANDI Peters has been forced off air after falling ill with shingles - taking his first day off sick in 20 years.

Good Morning Britain wished Andi, 49, well after presenter Susanna Reid announced he'd contracted the nerve infection on the breakfast show today.

 Andi Peters has fallen ill with shingles and taken his first day off in 20 years
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Andi Peters has fallen ill with shingles and taken his first day off in 20 yearsCredit: Rex Features

Susanna, 49, told viewers: "Sorry I've just got some breaking news from Andi Peters' sick bed. He's got shingles. First day off in 20 years."

Her co-star Piers Morgan said: "Shingles, how do you get shingles?"

And Susanna replied: "It's chicken pox for adults" as newsreader Ranvir Singh added: "It's really bad."

Admitting his concern, Piers, 54, said: "He never has a sick day. I feel sorry for Andi, it's not the same without you mate. Sorry about your shingles. Hope you get well soon."

 Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid wished Andi well on Good Morning Britain today
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Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid wished Andi well on Good Morning Britain today

What are the symptoms of shingles and what does the rash look like?

The most common first signs of shingles are tingling or pains in patches of the skin along with headaches.

A rash can then appear, usually on the chest or stomach — but it can also appear on the face, eyes and genitals, according to the NHS website.

The shingles rash appears as red blotches on your skin, on one side of your body only. A rash on both the left and right of your body is unlikely to be shingles.

The blotches become itchy blisters which ooze fluid. A few days later the blisters dry out and scab.

The rash can form a band that only appears on one side of your body. The skin remains painful until after the rash has gone.

You should speak to a GP as soon as you suspect you have shingles.

Medication can speed up the recovery.

Andi is a fixture of morning TV - having appeared on GMTV, Good Morning Britain and Lorraine over the years.

His early breaks in the showbiz world came on children's TV with shows on CBBC and he also presented popular kids show Live & Kicking for three years.

Andi's exit from the show in 1996 was voted one of the biggest tear-jerking moments in TV history by Channel 4.

Describing what he was like at school, he previously told The Independent: "I was middle of the road. As in, I wasn't a swot, but I wasn't a tough, trendy kid either!"

 Shingles causes a blotchy and itchy rash to appear on the skin
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Shingles causes a blotchy and itchy rash to appear on the skinCredit: Getty - Contributor

"If it was the Big Brother house I'd be the one that got on with everybody but didn't really forge an allegiance with anybody.

"Luckily I was the funny one, so people always like the funny one. Well, that's what they told me!"

Recently Piers reduced viewers to tears of laughter after making repeated mentions of Andi's "package" during the show.

Andi has a net worth of around £3 million, built up from his many years in television.

 The This Morning presenter recently posted about having shingles
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The This Morning presenter recently posted about having shinglesCredit: Instagram

 

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