Eamonn Holmes admits needing carers to assist him is ‘humiliating’

Eamonn Holmes has said needing a carer to help him with ‘simple things’ is ‘humiliating’ as he opened up about his health woes. 

The presenter, 64, who last week said he is ‘on borrowed time’, uses a wheelchair as he suffers from chronic back pain and is undergoing painful physio sessions.

Speaking in January he said the ‘harsh reality’ could be that he may never be able to walk unaided again.

Eamonn spoke about needing carers to help him while hosting GB News alongside Ellie Costello, who replaced usual presenter Isabel Webster, on Wednesday.

The presenting pair were joined by two guests, Polly and Michelle, to discuss Thursday’s General Election. 

Michelle, who is a care support worker, said she would like to bring Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak and Nigel Farage with her on a day to work so they can see what she does as part of her job.

‘I’m not finishing at 6pm on a Friday afternoon. I’m working 60 hours a week for £12.50 an hour,’ she said. 

Eamonn replied: ‘I just want to say – what you do, I have been basically disabled for a year and a half or so and I have to have a career to do the smallest simplest things and it’s humiliating and humbling – but thank goodness that carers are available.’     

Eamonn was back on air on Wednesday after bowing out of Tuesday’s programme due to feeling unwell.

He looked back to his normal self on the show and erupted into a rant about ‘workshy Britain’, taking a swipe at people ‘not wanting to work,’ after Keir Starmer suggested he would not work after 6pm on Fridays if he became Prime Minister.  

The TV star usually works on Mondays to Wednesdays each week, but has confirmed he will be stepping in on Friday to help with the General Election coverage.

The presenter sparked concern on Tuesday among viewers after suddenly going missing halfway through a 7:45am interview.

Eamonn stayed silent throughout the interview, leaving Isabel to ask the questions, before he left the desk offscreen. 

Isabel then presented the final 90 minutes of the show solo without explaining Eamonn’s absence. 

A spokesperson for GB News told MailOnline that the star was forced to leave early due to ill health, explaining: ‘Eamonn had to finish a little earlier today as he was feeling unwell. He hopes to be back tomorrow.’ 

A friend added that Eamonn was in good spirits, despite having to go home early.

The TV personality spoke about his health problems at last week’s TRIC Awards, with the industry event also marking his first public appearance since he split from wife Ruth Langsford. 

The star has had a tough year, and admitted at the annual bash that he feels as though he is on ‘borrowed time’ because his father died at 65 of a fatal heart attack. 

Eamonn was seen arriving at the awards in a wheelchair as he suffers from chronic back pain and is undergoing painful physio sessions. 

Ruth meanwhile is said to be grappling with ‘agonising guilt’ over her estranged husband’s health problems. 

Claims have emerged that Ruth is torn between helping Eamonn and moving on with her life, with a source telling Bella magazine that Ruth feels ‘terribly guilty’ and seeing recent photos of her ex looking ‘frail has been torture for her’. 

‘Even though she has every right to live her life and do what is right for her – she’s convinced the public will see her as abandoning Eamonn in his time of need as he struggles with his health,’ the insider explained this week.

Eamonn previously praised Ruth for her ‘amazing’ support after he suffered a fall down the stairs of their home in November 2022.

In 2016, the star underwent a double-hip replacement operation lasting three-and-a-quarter hours after living with acute pain for many years. 

Then in 2018 Eamonn detailed his battle with shingles and how he was struck with the virus on his son Declan’s wedding day. 

His years of chronic back pain started in spring 2021 – which came completely out of nowhere. The pain become so severe that it left him reliant on a walking stick, but soon found out the root cause.

He eventually discovered it was three slipped discs that affected the movement of his right leg.

In September 2022, Eamonn was forced to step away from his GB news show as he underwent vital back surgery to aid his chronic back pain.

Then in November 2022 he endured a horrific accident which saw him fall down a set of stairs at his home in Surrey leading him to break his shoulder weeks after his huge spinal surgery.

Shortly before their splie Ruth said she ‘lives in hope’ that his mobility will improve.

Speaking to Woman’s Weekly, Ruth said: ‘I don’t know how much Eamonn’s mobility will improve. We live in hope. 

‘He does the physio, but there might have to be some acceptance that this might never be 100% right. With any care situation – and there are millions of carers in this country – it isn’t always easy. It’s testing but we manage as a family.’

Ruth added: ‘I look at Eamonn, who’s had his health and back problems, and it makes you realise how important your health is.’

Discussing his woes at the beginning of the year, Eamonn himself said: ‘It’s as if somebody up there is playing with my life. In the past year I’ve had an operation on my back which went wrong and has confined me to a wheelchair. 

‘I’ve fallen and broken my shoulder. Honestly you could not make it up.’

He added: ‘I have tried every treatment, but you go. Maybe I’ll never get out of it,’ which is a harsh reality to face.’

Eamonn admitted he didn’t even know if he would be able to attend the annual TRIC Awards, however his new high tech equipment has allowed him to be more comfortable.

TV power couple Eamonn and Ruth’s split was announced in May with a statement claiming work commitments had taken their lives ‘in different directions’. 

It has since been claimed that Eamonn was ‘blindsided’ by the announcement.

He learned of her plan just hours before the statement was released via Ruth’s spokesman, saying: ‘Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes have confirmed their marriage is over and they are in the process of divorcing.’

The announcement was described as a ‘joint statement’.

A friend of Eamonn’s told the Mail: ‘Eamonn was left blindsided, it was awful for him.

‘He literally found out about it a very short time before it was published – you’re talking hours. 

‘It all seems a little bizarre given that the statement said they were hoping to keep it amicable.

‘Eamonn wanted no part of it, he couldn’t see any reason why you would release that statement. 

‘It was wholly written and signed off by Ruth and her team. In the end he had no power over it whatsoever.’ 

The Mail also revealed that Eamonn had been confiding how ‘very bad’ things have been with his wife in recent weeks, while his colleagues at GB News said they have been concerned for him of late.

They said that he had been ‘down’ but put it down to him being in pain.

The Northern Irish television anchor addressed the split publicly for the first time on his GB News breakfast show, while still wearing his wedding ring on his left finger. 

Alongside his co-host Isabel Webster, the broadcaster said: ‘Just before we move on we’d just like to thank people for your support for Ruth and I over the last few days as to the news of our separation.

 ‘Your support for both of us is very much appreciated.’ 

The couple tied the knot in 2010 after dating for 13 years – and say that despite their separation, they are ‘determined to stay friends’. 

They are parents to son Jack, 22, while Eamonn also has sons Declan, 35, Niall, 31, and daughter Rebecca, 33, from his previous marriage.

The pair had been living together until recently at their £3.2 million home in Weybridge, Surrey.

Insiders have claimed that the pair were living separate lives for two years, with their relationship deteriorating after they left This Morning in 2021.

Eamonn has had a tough two years, losing the ITV show, as well as battling health conditions and grieving the death of his mother. The presenter is said to have been keen to move home to Belfast, but Ruth was adamant they stay put at their Surrey home.

A source told The Sun on Sunday: ‘Eamonn and Ruth’s relationship changed when they left This Morning. They started moving in different directions in their careers and their priorities started to change. 

‘Eamonn was desperate to return to Belfast, which he thinks of as home, but Ruth would never move. It became a bone of contention.

‘As her ITV career continued, Eamonn went down another path and they became ships in the night. For the past two years they had led separate lives, professionally and personally.’