24's female U.S. president Cherry Jones is recovering in the hospital after undergoing surgery to have her gall bladder removed. The 52-year-old actress, who plays President Alison Taylor in the current season of the hit drama, was forced to skip a press conference for the show on Tuesday, when her illness was announced.

24 producer Howard Gordon revealed Jones has undergone a Cholecystectomy, adding, "But she's OK."

The news comes just four days after cancer sufferer Patrick Swayze missed a press conference to promote his own new show The Beast, after falling ill with pneumonia. On the very same day it was announced that fellow TV stars Mariska Hargitay and Howie Mandel were battling a collapsed lung and irregular heartbeat, respectively.