It's been a busy six months for TV presenter Eamonn Holmes, from leaving ITV's This Morning after 15 years alongside his wife Ruth Langsford and joining GB News, to almost having an emergency back operation and launching a new BBC cooking show.
Daily Mirror's TV editor, Nicola Methven, caught up with the Eamonn to discuss what life on and off screen has been like for him. While the 62-year-old says life is good, he has opened up about his frustration over not being told the reason behind why he was axed by ITV and what it was like enduring three slipped discs.
When asked what went wrong at ITV and if it was the comment about 5G masts being linked to coronavirus, Eamonn said: "It’s never been mentioned to me. If that was the case, at least that would be a reason. And if Dame EasyJet [ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall, ex-chief exec of EasyJet] had wanted an apology or some sort of explanation, fine. But she never picked up the phone and asked me.
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"I’ve never had any communication with Dame Carolyn McCall. And I still stand by those remarks because not once did I say 5G spreads coronavirus. I said that as reporters, we should always question the narrative. And that has never been more obvious than under the No10 regime that has existed from then and beyond."
Nicola then quizzed: "So you didn’t quit for GB News?" To which the presenter replied back with saying: "The department of disinformation at ITV can put out all the lies they want. I wish somebody would show me the email or the letter or that I was sent to say, ‘Eamonn, this is why this is coming to an end’. But to tell lies, that I left them to go to GB News... I didn’t – they left me. Let’s get it straight. They left me. I don’t care, because our audience is only up."
The Mirror editor went on to ask if Eamonn thinks ITV should have kept him on. He said: "You have no right to be there. TV companies can do whatever they want with you. It’s just, sometimes it surprises you, the ones they hold on to." Meanwhile, a spokesperson for ITV said: “This isn’t a version of events that we recognise and as we have said before we wish Eamonn all of the very best.”
Upon being asked if he ever watches This Morning and if he has any TV projects in the works for him and Ruth, Eamonn said: "No. It would be too... sensitive. I mean, I spend every day going out on the street and people saying, ‘Why are you and Ruth not on any more?’"
He continued: "Ruth is now phenomenally successful as a fashion designer for QVC. She is the second highest selling clothing brand on QVC internationally. She spends her time agonising over detail and plans and designs – it must be like being married to Victoria Beckham, you know? It’s all-consuming really."
Addressing his move from This Morning to GB News, Eamonn added: "The first day I walked in, the newsroom stood up and applauded me and I was very taken aback by that. It meant something to them that I was there. In six months the audience has gone up sixfold, I’ve got two award nominations, so that hasn’t been too bad for someone that’s male, pale and stale. For the record, Eamonn doesn’t feel any of those things."
In terms of his health, Eamonn says his hips are fine, adding: "Seven years ago I had a bilateral hip operation – two hips replaced at once – and that went well. The problem I’ve had for the last 18 months is discs that have dislocated in my back and protruded on both sides. On my right they killed my sciatic nerve in my leg. Then they dislodged on my left side, so last month it was an unexpected hospital admission in Belfast.
"Your spine is a very delicate thing and if there’s any chance it could go wrong, they shy away. I was scheduled for emergency surgery but in the operating theatre the surgeon thought again, and said, ‘I’m not going to do this’."
He added: "Instead they inject you with steroids, put these very long needles into your spine. Surgery hasn’t been ruled out, but the steroids mean that you can’t feel the problem any more. I’m walking about better than I have in ages. I’m not using a crutch or a stick. And I genuinely feel good."
Eamonn says he was at his worst health-wise while filming Farm to Feast last summer on BBC One: "I had crutches, and every time there was a shot with me I threw them aside, but I couldn’t balance. But I just soldier through."
But says he enjoyed filming it: "What the world needs is another cookery programme, you know? (Laughs.) There’s a bit of Countryfile in it, the cooking, the rivalry, and what was absolutely beautiful for me was the seven contestants and me. We were all strangers, and we came together on that programme and we have remained friends – we have our WhatsApp group and we go to each other’s houses. I mean, it’s brilliant having friends who are cooks.
"The contestants all have other jobs, they're quantity surveyors, one's an ophthalmic surgeon, one's a civil servant, an estate agent. One works in Tesco stacking shelves and we've all become very, very close and it's never happened to me before on a programme. I think it's because it was filmed in Northern Ireland. I’m going to somebody's wedding in a couple of weeks! I mean, that's been quite unique for me."
Eamonn said doing more TV work like Farm to Feast could be something he'd be interested in: "It depends what pays the bills. I could see myself working on Countryfile or something...being the new John Craven. I was a farming reporter for two years."
While reflecting on his time at GB News, Eamonn said: "You know, the audience has increased sixfold since I’ve been there. We’re lucky we’ve got a recognition with TRIC [the Television and Radio Industries Club, which hosts annual awards] in two nominations.
"The early starts don’t get any easier. I leave the house about 3.30, I get down there about 4.30, we’re on air at 6 until 9.30. I can’t pretend it’s easy, but it’s breakfast and waking people up."
In regards to the show's ratings, he said: "We’re getting 80,000 or so. News is pretty depressing and it’s a big responsibility to deliver it well, and to deliver it in a neutral way. Isabel Webster, who presents it with me, that’s what we do. It’s a pity there is a sort of boycott on advertising at GB News, which is stopping a lot of things happening."
When asked if he would you work at ITV again, Eamonn told Nicola: "There’s one or two people that would have to not be there... But of course. I don’t care who I work for as long as I’m working."
Overall, he said life is good: "I suppose the older I get, the more I want to be home [in Belfast]. But having said that I’ve got too much to do. I’ve got to be where the work is. I’ve got my steroid injections and I’m still going. Life’s not bad."
Farm to Feast: Best Menu Wins, BBC1, Saturdays, 11.30am
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