- Kaley Cuoco paid tribute to her late 8 Simple Rules co-star John Ritter at a charity gala, describing his death as one of the worst days of her life.
- Ritter died suddenly aged 54 in September 2003 after suffering a thoracic aortic dissection - or a tear in the main artery of the heart - while on the set of the US sitcom.
- Cuoco recalled her first encounter with Ritter and described her former TV father as the north star of her career.
- Producers chose not to recast Ritter's character, instead writing his off-screen death into the series and adding James Garner and David Spade to the cast.
- The gala raised awareness for aortic dissection, a heart condition causing around 2,000 deaths in the UK each year.
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