It can be trying on set with Ruth, but we still have a laugh: Eamonn
EAMONN Holmes has admitted he often finds it “difficult” to work alongside his wife.
As TV co-presenters, the Belfast-born broadcaster and Ruth Langsford spend more time in each other’s company than most married couples.
Eamonn (58) confessed that he sometimes finds it challenging to work alongside his wife.
“Just because you’re married doesn’t mean to say you’re suited in every way, and professionally we have very different ways of looking at our jobs,” he said.
“We were Eamonn and we were Ruth before we were Eamonn and Ruth, and I quite like being Eamonn. I’ve been in telly since I was 19 and you get used to doing things your way.
“But the public have a hunger to see us together. We’re constantly surprised by how fascinated people are by us as a couple. It’s a big responsibility.”
However, Eamonn insisted that their relationship remains as strong as ever off-camera.
Revealing the secret of their lasting bond, he said: “You have to be interested in each other and have the lines of communication open — even if you don’t want to hear what is being said.
“In our particular case, laughter plays a great part. However heated things become, we can usually just laugh our way out of it.”
The veteran broadcaster also told how he is enjoying a new lease of life following a double hip replacement and a getting a hearing aid. He partly blames the hearing loss — his audiologist found he had lost 30% of his hearing capacity — on his lengthy career in broadcasting.
He recalled: “The signs of my hearing loss were there in so many ways — too many times saying ‘Pardon?’ and ‘Sorry, could you say that again?’
“I’ve been doing live television for five days a week for 38 years, with earpieces in my ear, so that may have contributed. But I’m also 58 and that just happens when you get older.”
He added: “Your hearing tails off from your mid-30s, so if you’re a man in your 50s, why go around in denial, pretending you’re OK when something can be done to fix it.”
Couple: Ruth and Eamonn