News's Health and Science Editor Emily Morgan has died aged 45, the broadcaster announced today.
Described as 'incredibly talented', she played a critical role in the network's coverage of the Covid pandemic.
ITN - who she worked for for 23 years - revealed she passed away after a short battle with lung cancer.
Reporting from behind the healthcare frontline, her work was described as 'instrumental' in exposing the pressure NHS workers were under.
Andrew Dagnell, the editor of ITV Network News, said: 'We are deeply saddened by the passing of our remarkable colleague, Emily Morgan.
Emily was not only an incredibly talented journalist, but a much-loved member of the ITV Newsroom and her absence will be deeply felt by all who knew her.
'As our Health and Science editor, Emily played a pivotal role in shaping our coverage through some of the most important stories of our time, including her courageous reporting through the COVID-19 pandemic, visiting hospitals and health care workers on the front lines, and sharing their stories with our viewers.
'Our thoughts are with Emily’s family. Emily was proud to be a journalist, but she was even more proud of her family. She adored them. We are sending them our love and support at this unthinkably difficult time.
'Emily was an exceptional journalist, a devoted mother and wife and a true trailblazer in our field.
'Her friendship, her professionalism and her enormous contribution to our industry and to the public conversation will not be forgotten.'
Her reports aired as recently as March 30, where she met with desperate patients on NHS waiting lists jetting to Lithuania for surgery.
In the weeks before, she spent 48 hours
NHS England paid tribute to Ms Morgan, praising her 'exceptional' coverage of the pandemic.
They tweeted: 'Everyone at NHS England deeply saddened to hear this terrible news.
Emily was a brilliant journalist whose coverage of Covid in particular was exceptional. 'She will be hugely missed and our thoughts are with her colleagues, friends and, most of all, her family.'Ms Morgan's opposite number, Channel 5 Health Correspondant Catherine Jones said, hailed her as 'truly lovely'.She said: 'We have both covered health news for many years, and I could always count on her on a professional and a personal level. 'A truly lovely individual; in an industry where most people have flaws, she had none.'Director of Journalism at BBC News, Jonathan Munro, added: 'The death of Emily Morgan deprives us all of an intelligent, probing, empathetic journalist. 'An explainer and an analyst. A real talent. 'Hardly comparable, though, to the loss for her family which must be utterly heartbreaking.'This is a breaking news story and will be updated