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Cat Deeley moved back to UK after family caught up in terrifying mall shooting

Patrick Kielty, left, and Cat Deeley arrive at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)
Patrick Kielty and Cat Deeley have decided to quit the US to protect their children from gun violence. (AP)

Cat Deeley has revealed she decided to move back to the UK after husband Patrick Kielty and her son were caught up in a shopping mall shooting.

The Birmingham-born TV presenter has lived in Los Angeles for 14 years hosting US shows including So You Think You Can Dance and The Choice. But she and her family have now made the decision to return to Britain.

Deeley, 43, told YOU magazine how Irish comedian Kielty, 49, and her four-year-old son Milo were on a trip to the Century City Mall in LA when police officers arrived and told them to take cover because a gunman was on the loose.

Read more: Ant & Dec share amazing throwback pic with Cat Deeley on SMTV anniversary

The former SM:TV presenter said: “They shut down the centre. 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?’

“He wanted to keep Milo calm, so I didn’t understand the enormity of what was happening. as I was driving I began to see helicopters, news vans, firemen and SWAT [armed police response] squads. It makes me go funny now. It was terrifying.”

Deeley explained Kielty and her son had been in a fast food restaurant and were pushed into the kitchen, where the comedian distracted his son by playing Peppa Pig on his phone.

She said her husband was “shaken” by the incident but fortunately Milo, though “hot and cranky”, had not understood what was going on.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE: FINALE: Host Cat Deeley (L) announces Americas favorite dancer Bailey Munoz (C) and runner-up Mariah Russell (R) on the Season Finale of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE airing live, Monday, Sept. 16 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (Photo by FOX via Getty Images)
Cat Deeley has hosted 'So You Think You Can Dance' in the US since 2006. (FOX via Getty Images)

Deeley, who is also mother to two-year-old son James, admitted “fear” had played a part in the family’s decision to leave America.

Read more: Cat Deeley is pregnant with her and Patrick Kielty's second child

She said: “There was a moment when I was with a friend looking at potential schools for Milo and we had to ask the question nobody wants to, ‘What do you do if there is a live shooter on the premises?’ They tell you exactly what would happen, whether the kids would go to a safe room or hide under the desks... The danger suddenly becomes a reality.”

Deeley and Kielty were friends for many years before they began dating. They married in Rome in 2012.

Watch: Cat Deeley cringes watching her first screen test for SMTV