Eamonn Holmes: From Daytime TV Star to ITV Fallout Amid Health Issues, Marriage Trouble, and Feuds

Eamonn Holmes and his estranged wife, Ruth Langsford, were once the golden couple of daytime TV.

From 2006 onward, they brightened up This Morning’s Fridays – and even stepped in for Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby during the holidays – quickly becoming one of the nation’s most cherished presenting duos.

But the shine began to fade. In 2020, after 15 years on the sofa, the presenter, 65, was abruptly shown the door by ITV.

What followed was a bruising chapter in Eamonn’s life – a marriage that fell apart, mounting health battles, tension’s with HMRC, and bumping heads with figures once firmly in his TV orbit.

Once hailed as daytime royalty, Eamonn suddenly found his private struggles spilling into the spotlight.

Here, The Daily Mail takes a look at the setbacks that reshaped his world.

ITV sack

Eamonn and Ruth were replaced by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary on This Morning in 2021.

The presenter, who now presents the breakfast show at GB News with co-host Isabel Webster, accused ITV bosses of making it look as if he had walked away when in fact he had ‘no idea’ why he was being relieved of the slot.

‘No one explained anything to me,’ he told Weekend magazine.

‘I’m all for TV companies being able to choose who works for them, but it would be nice if you were told why you were going.

‘They’re sly. They didn’t want to announce that I’d been dropped because it would adversely affect audience figures, so they made it look as if I’d walked away from them rather than the other way round.

‘They had a chat with my agent and announced that I was going to GB News when they’d done no more than ask if I’d be interested in joining them.’

Eamonn, who had previously co-presented ITV breakfast show GMTV for 12 years, added: ‘I’m not going to have myself derided as some sort of has-been. I may be male and pale but I’m still at the top of my game.’

In September 2020 it was reported that the star was ‘not in line with the youth drive’ ITV was after as he was too ‘pale, stale and male’.

In 2022, he accused channel bosses of hypocrisy, claiming that those who run the show are ‘middle-aged white managers’.

He said: ‘When are they going to start being diverse with their management? The diversity is only on screen. It’s hypocritical.’

Marriage breakdown 

Eamonn and Ruth shocked fans in May 2024 when it was revealed that they had split after 14 years of marriage and were headed for divorce.

Eamonn has since moved on with new girlfriend Katie Alexander, 43, while Ruth is enjoying the single life.

And while Ruth and Eamonn have remained relatively quiet about their split, new reports reveal that the GB News star’s actions led to the breakdown of their romance, with Ruth said to have been ‘horrified’ to overhear him having a cosy chat with another woman when he thought he was home alone.

The Loose Woman star also reportedly found messages on his laptop, with The Sun reporting that the discovery was a ‘real kick in the teeth’.

The publication said: ‘Eamonn thought he was in the house alone while he was chatting on the phone. But Ruth could hear him from elsewhere in the house and was totally horrified. She confronted Eamonn. It was quite a shock – for both of them.

The Loose Woman star also reportedly found messages on his laptop, with The Sun reporting that the discovery was a ‘real kick in the teeth’.

The publication said: ‘Eamonn thought he was in the house alone while he was chatting on the phone.

‘But Ruth could hear him from elsewhere in the house and was totally horrified. She confronted Eamonn. It was quite a shock – for both of them.

‘Eamonn had no idea Ruth was in the house at the time. It was a huge blow to Ruth, particularly as she had been devoted to caring for Eamonn during his physical health issues.

‘To discover he was sharing intimate chats with another woman was a real kick in the teeth for Ruth.’

A source reported to The Sun that the row over the phone call occurred in April in the pair’s Surrey home, however, just weeks later Ruth was said to have found messages on his laptop.

The discovery was said to have triggered their split announcement, with the heartbreaking discovery said to have been ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’.

The insider added: ‘After the phone call row the marriage limped on for a few weeks until Ruth found the laptop messages. It was another awful experience for her and the straw that broke the camel’s back as far as the marriage was concerned.’

A joint statement issued by the pair announcing their split simply read: ‘Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes have confirmed their marriage is over and they are in the process of divorcing.’

Daily Mail contacted representatives of Ruth and Eamonn for comment at the time.

Health issues

The broadcaster has been plagued by health battles in recent years after undergoing surgery on his back in 2022, which left him reliant on a walking frame or wheelchair. 

Most recently, Eamonn sparked concerns from his fans and GB News colleagues, after revealing he’d undergone a procedure on his eye. 

Last Month, the presenter took to his Instagram to share two selfies sporting a patch over his right eye and explaining he’d been in the hospital.

Eamonn has battled a number of health problems in recent years, including a double hip replacement surgery, slipped discs and ongoing spinal problems.

And sources have now said that this latest health woe has set the broadcaster back even further in his recovery.

The two snaps saw Eamonn posing with the eye shield taped professionally by hospital staff, and another of him in his car after his own attempt, with significantly more tape.

Captioning the shots, the star made light of his situation, while remaining tight-lipped about the reasoning for the procedure.

He quipped: ‘One of these eye patches was put on in hospital and the other one by me. See if u can guess which ? Ps U should see the other guy!!!!’

While insiders have confirmed that Eamonn’s eye operation was not serious, one source told Daily Mail: ‘It seems to have put him out for longer than he hoped.

‘It’s one thing after another with set backs… his back as well and he’s got to have more surgery on his back so he’s out of action.’

Representatives for Eamonn declined to comment when approached by Daily Mail.

Eamonn was left him reliant on a walking frame or wheelchair in 2022.

At the time, he shared a photo from his bed and admitted: ‘Life’s not easy these days.’

Earlier this year he told fans his problems were ongoing, writing on Instagram: ‘Even when the sun shines there’s pain. Sometimes I feel I’ll never beat this disc immobility but I’m determined to have a life…’

His health issues stretch back much further, with him undergoing a double hip replacement in 2016 after years of living with acute pain.

Two years later he was struck down with shingles, which nearly derailed his son Declan’s wedding day.

By 2021, severe back pain seemingly came out of nowhere, leaving him dependent on a walking stick before doctors discovered he was suffering from three slipped discs affecting his right leg.

And last month, Eamonn said he lives a ‘physically difficult existence’ after his back surgery went wrong.

Speaking to Pamela Ballantine on ITV News, the former This Morning star explained he had a disc operation that went wrong and left him unable to walk other than ’50 yards or something with a stroller device, but basically I’m wheelchair bound’.

While in June, he gave a candid and heartbreaking health update live on GB News, detailing the deterioration of his body.

During a segment about recent research that had found that exercise had potential to cut the risk of getting cancer, Eamonn admitted: ‘This makes me feel awful because I would have been pro-exercise, but I can’t move.

‘I’m in a wheelchair now. I can’t put on trainers, I can’t change, I can’t go to the showers, I can’t do things, I can’t stand up.’

‘There are a lot of people who are incapable of exercising, and therefore, rightly so, an increase of cancer growing.’

Tim Vincent acknowledged: ‘Absolutely and that is an issue that everybody is going to face. You’re obviously in a really difficult position.

‘Any exercise I think is going to help, especially for these people who have had cancer once and can get out there.’

Tax woes

On Thursday, Eamonn revealed that his tax row with HMRC has cost him more than £1m and two houses – and he still owes a quarter of a million pounds.

The Northern Irish broadcaster branded HMRC as ‘thieves’ for ‘ruining him’ and revealed the saga has cost him a home in Belfast and a holiday pad in Portugal.

Eamonn – who has worked for the likes of GB News and and ITV – claimed tax officials ruled he was a staff member with broadcasters rather than freelance.

He said the tax office requested 10 years worth of back tax and national insurance as a result of the employee status change.

Eamonn claimed he has already paid over £1million back since – but despite selling his two homes still owes a whopping £250,000.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, he said: ‘And they basically, at the most vulnerable time in my life, they wrecked me financially.’

He said he appealed the decision twice but lost both times, and then landed with huge legal fees as a result.

Eamonn has worked on TV for GB News, Sky News, ITV, BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and written for the Daily Express and the Daily Mirror during his career.

Last year Eamonn spoke about the tax battle and said he never received holiday or sick pay, though he said he wasn’t looking for sympathy. ‘It’s like they have taken away everything I ever worked for,’ he said in an interview with his former UTV colleague Gerry Kelly.

In response Eamonn’s tax battle at the time, a HMRC spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘We take the wellbeing of all taxpayers seriously and do everything we can for those who engage with us to get their tax affairs in order, including by offering affordable payment plans.’ 

Swipe at Lorraine Kelly

During his rant about HMRC, Eammon also argued that telly star Lorraine Kelly managed to avoid similar tax issues by arguing she was playing a part on TV.

 He explained how Lorraine is deemed to be freelance because she’s not really Lorraine Kelly.

‘I would say, you know, I’m an actor who plays the part of Eamonn Holmes, except I’m not, I’m the same off screen as I am on screen,’ he said.

‘There’s no different persona with me.’

Bumping heads with Phillip Schofield

Eamonn Holmes and Phillip Schofield have been locked in an ongoing feud since Phil’s departure from ITV over an affair with a younger male colleague.

Eamonn, has openly shared his dislike of the Cast Away star, 63, with the pair’s warring words sparking a feud that’s been dubbed one of the biggest in showbusiness.

According to The Mirror, Phillip believes Eamonn’s ‘personal vendetta’ against him comes from being axed from the This Morning Friday slot.

A friend of Phillip’s told the publication that Eamonn was ‘consumed with jealousy that Friday rated poorly compared to the rest of the week’.

It has also been claimed Eamonn was upset that Phillip never messaged him after he and his now estranged wife Ruth were axed from the ITV daytime show.

During his Channel 5 series Cast Away, Phillip slammed an ITV colleague who ‘threw him under the bus,’ and a source previously told The Sun that he was referring to Eamonn.

However, a source close to Eamonn told MailOnline: ‘Phillip is going around trying to get people to feel sorry for him when the reality is he’s brought everything that’s happened upon himself.

‘He just needs to own it and stop trying to hit out at everyone else. Eamonn has no relationship with Phillip these days. They’re not friends. But his conscience is clear over everything that has happened in the past between them.’