diff --git a/Classes/Hooks/DataHandlerHook.php b/Classes/Hooks/DataHandlerHook.php
index eade72e..f4846da 100644
--- a/Classes/Hooks/DataHandlerHook.php
+++ b/Classes/Hooks/DataHandlerHook.php
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ public function processDatamap_preProcessFieldArray(&$fieldArray, $table, $id, &
             $allowedItems = $this->getBeUser()->getTSConfig()['tt_newsPerms.']['tt_news_cat.']['allowedItems'] ?? '';
             $allowedItems = $allowedItems ? GeneralUtility::intExplode(',', $allowedItems) : Div::getAllowedTreeIDs();
 
-            $wantedCategories = GeneralUtility::intExplode(',', $fieldArray['category'] ?? '');
+            $wantedCategories = ($fieldArray['category'] ?? false) ? GeneralUtility::intExplode(',', $fieldArray['category']) : [];
             foreach ($wantedCategories as $wantedCategory) {
                 $categories[$wantedCategory] = $wantedCategory;
             }