Ruth Langsford made a much-welcomed return to Loose Women just a couple of weeks after viewers expressed concerns over her whereabouts. The ITV lunchtime panel show was back on air on Tuesday (January 3) for the first live show of the year. It comes after a string of pre-recorded episodes aired between Christmas and New Year.
Following the last live show of 2022, on December 23, viewers were asking about Ruth after realising she hadn't been on the show for a number of months.
@aaabbb3 asked: "Where's Ruth?? #loosewomen." @RodrickSanchez0 said: "Where is @RuthieeL she hasn’t been on #thismorning since summer love Josie and Craig tho @thismorning - but why hasn’t she been on #loosewomen in a while @loosewomen hope she’s back soon and for the Christmas schedule as I’m missing Ruth #ruthlangsford is Ruth ok?"
And Ruth appeared to spark concern when she appeared to leave husband Eamonn Holmes out of her social media post at Christmas. The former This Morning host shared a video to her followers of her festive fun alongside her pet dog, Maggie.
Ruth then captioned the video which she posted to her thousands of Instagram followers: "Never seem to find time to post much over Christmas and I know it’s over now, but I couldn’t resist making this little reel of Maggie enjoy the festive season! It’s all about the kids isn’t it?!!"
But the comments were quickly being flooded with messages from people asking about Eamonn, who she hadn't appeared to mention for a while. However, all was explained as she sat back on the Loose Women panel and after doing her opening link, her co-stars were soon asking where she had been.
Ruth was quick to clarify that she was fine and that she was actually off to help care for her husband. GB News star Eamonn underwent surgery in September in a bid to help his suffering from chronic pain. However, just a couple of weeks after the op, which came with "20 percent risk of going wrong", it was revealed Eamonn had suffered a fall during his recovery and had to undergo a second surgery after the accident left him with a fractured shoulder.
And in more tragic news, in late November, Eamonn Holmes shared the heartbreaking news his mum, Josie, has died. The former This Morning star confirmed the sad news on Instagram alongside a photo of his mum before her death waving to him from her front door. He was then later unable to travel back to Northern Ireland in order to attend the funeral and had to watch via a stream at the Surrey home he shares with Ruth.
"It's not secret that he was struggling with bulging discs, then he had a back operation which is always a nerve-wracking moment and then a few days after that he fell down the stairs and broke his shoulder," Ruth said. "So it's been a difficult time and I took some time off to be at home and look after him.
"Then very sadly his mum passed away in the middle of all that so it's been a terrible time." Carol McGiffin then said; "That's a lot of bad luck to which Ruth replied; "It is a lot of bad luck and these things often come along and you think, 'anything else?'" Carol added that 2023 'couldn't get any worse' before adding 'onwards and upwards' to which Ruth said she had her 'fingers crossed'.
She then sent a message to Kelle Bryan's dad who had been worried about her before adding: "Thanks for worrying Terry [Kelle's dad] and thanks to everyone who was worrying. It wasn't me, I'm absolutely fine and Eamonn's on the mend and will be back at work next week."
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