‘Diet? I’d rather have another glass of wine’

Ruth Langsford on married life and accepting her imperfections

Ruth Langsford, 58, lives with her husband and This Morning co-host Eamonn Holmes, son Jack, 16, and their Border collie cross, Maggie. The family home is in leafy Weybridge, Surrey.

STYLE REVOLUTION

My style has evolved over the years. I’m not a slavish follower of fashion like I was in my 20s, because now I know my body and what suits me. If it’s wispy and in a pastel shade, I won’t go anywhere near it!

I can’t stand the words ‘age appropriate’. For example, ‘You can’t wear leopard print or a leather jacket because you’re too old.’ Nonsense! The minute somebody says, ‘You can’t wear that!’ I want to wear it more! The ethos of my clothes range for QVC (I still can’t believe this girl from Plymouth is a designer!) is about creating things I couldn’t find in shops, such as a denim jacket that wasn’t stiff or thick. I’d get a hot flush just looking at them. It’s that middle ground that’s fashionable, sexy and also comfy.

You shouldn’t play it safe with fashion,

though I’m guilty of it. My comfort zone is jeans, nice blazer and a white T-shirt, but you can easily give your classics a modern twist. If green is in season, just throw on a scarf to be on trend. We all have insecurities, though.

BODY MATTERS

When I see myself naked, there are bits I wish were different, but it doesn’t ruin my life. I’m 58 and I’ve had nothing done to my face or body, and I’m okay with how I look. I have always had a bloated, rounded little tummy, even in my teens – it’s just my shape! I have had people ask if I’m pregnant on telly. People can be vicious and I’d be lying if I said such comments didn’t sting.

I don’t want to give up on my body.

If I let myself go, I could easily be bigger, which is fine, but I’m not ready for that quite yet. Still, as I’ve got older, I’ve become more accepting of my imperfections

– like the wide hips, which no amount of dieting will change!

I lost weight during Strictly, but I put it

back on instantly! Unless you’re prepared to do aerobics for five hours a day, it’s impossible [to keep the weight off]. I’d be up since 5am doing Loose Women or This

Morning and then in the car on my way to see Anton [Du Beke] and I’d think, ‘I’m too tired for this.’ Then I’d get there, see his smiling face and we’d be off. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my body change and knowing that if you put your mind to it, you can do it – but I’m not prepared to. I’d rather have another glass of wine! Alcohol is the one thing I should give up, but life’s too short. I exercise and do what I can, when

I can. Some people treat looking fantastic like a full-time job, but I have other interests.

BREAKING TABOOS

For me, the menopause was a slow burn. I could feel it coming. The tiredness is the worst part – or the hot flushes. I was doing a lot of things my mother used to do! You know, the classic, ‘Anyone else warm in here? Can we just open the window?’ My big thing was losing my mojo (in terms of energy). I’d find myself staring out the window – that’s when I decided to go to my doctor and he told me I was [experiencing the menopause]. My HRT is tailor-made for me, it’s bioidentical and amazing. Within a week, I thought, ‘My energy’s back!’ It’s great

in this day and age to be so open about it, unlike our mothers and grandmothers. I feel strongly that men need to be educated about it as much as women. They should know why we’re cranky or say, ‘I’m too hot, get off me!’ so they can be more understanding. I think men’s hormones also change. Eamonn’s convinced there’s a ‘manopause’, and he is fantastically understanding. Employers should cut female workers going through this a bit of slack. I had to explain it to my son after I ‘saw

red’ one day. I was cleaning his room and he was supposedly helping me, but his focus kept drifting. I went away for a minute, came back, and when I saw he was reading a football magazine, I had a complete meltdown. I was screaming in his face like a madwoman. I stormed out, slammed his door, then the dining room door – I thought the glass might shatter. I ran upstairs, slammed my bedroom door and started crying. That’s when I thought, ‘Oh God.’ I went back to find poor Jack frozen in the same position, looking at me as if to say, ‘What on earth has happened to my mother?’ I said, ‘Jack, there’s a thing called the menopause…’ It is like an inner rage. It could be the smallest thing [that sets me off], and my language can be really ripe!

MARRIED LIFE

Eamonn and I share quite a smutty sense of humour! I like the banter

between us and adore his Irish humour. I see it as a form of affection. I see it in Eamonn’s children, too – they’re just like him and his brothers. I’m a very jealous woman. I bristled when Laura from Love

Island said she fancied him, but the girl’s got taste. I fancy Eamonn, too! It was so emotional watching him receive his OBE earlier this year. It was so well deserved. He’s an amazing broadcaster. We have a passion and a spark that you

can’t manufacture. I think the opposites attract thing is genuine. I can honestly say, even after 22 years together, if he walked in now my stomach would flip, especially if I wasn’t expecting to see him. There are times we rub each other up the wrong way. But if you are going to be on live TV, day in day out, as a married couple, I don’t mind that showing. If we argued all the time and it made people feel uncomfortable, that’s another story. I’m an independent woman and I speak my mind. We call them ‘debates and discussions’, not rows. We clash sometimes but, for me, that keeps our relationship fresh.

‘I’m an independent woman and I speak my mind’

REALITY BITES

I couldn’t do the other TV reality shows. Celebrity Big Brother would be awful. Not Masterchef either.

I love cooking, but I don’t want to be a chef. I’m happy with my casseroles. Dancing On Ice is too dangerous for me at my age, I’d be scared of breaking something. Also, I’m not competitive, which really annoys Eamonn.

MY CAREER

I just love This Morning, and the fact it’s celebrating 30 years this year is a testament to the show. I’ve been doing it since 2000 – longer than I’ve been a mum. I can’t believe how the years have flown by. Getting the role was a ‘pinch me’ moment. I’d always watched Richard and Judy and was fascinated by the fact that they were husband and wife. Sometimes, I’d think, ‘Judy’s a bit snitchy with Richard today, he must be winding her up,’ and now I get people saying that to me about Eamonn.

I still get slightly scared by live TV.

But that keeps me on my toes! I love meeting big celebrities like Tom Cruise, but I also love human interest stories. We’ve helped people tell some very difficult stories on This Morning – I feel more proud of that than interviewing a Hollywood movie star. I’m very lucky to wake up and be excited to go to work, but I know I’m good at what I do. I think you should blow your own trumpet sometimes, and Eamonn and I together just work.

I love that our Channel 5 [consumer] show Do The Right Thing is coming back.

It’s about helping the man or woman in the street with no voice to fight for justice, and that feels really good. We hear mostly bad things about people on the news, but there are so many people out there quietly doing the kindest things in their own time, often without financial reward. Last series, I was so moved by this very brave woman whose baby was suffocated by a nappy bag. I started to think of my own son and how I might feel, but then I looked at her and thought, ‘She’s lost her child. She’s doing this because she doesn’t want this to happen to anyone else – I shouldn’t be breaking down in tears, I need to help her tell her story. Afterwards, I can hold her hand and cry with her.’

FAMILY FIRST

My teenage son really is a lovely lad. It’s not easy having a parent on television – let alone two! Having said that, we have tried to be very mindful of

him. We haven’t really talked about him publicly. Strictly was the first time and I’d warned him, ‘If you come and watch me, they will film you in the audience,’ but he kept coming. He’s only 16 and happily watched his mother potentially make a fool of herself. He’s handled that side of our work very well. He’s a pretty balanced young man.

Weeknights can be late, so we try to be at home together at weekends.

They’re quite chilled. I like a lie-in and we might walk the dog, have a pub lunch or invite friends over and watch a movie. The three of us are very close though, so when he’s not with his mates, Jack doesn’t mind hanging out with us. He did his GCSES this year and said he might want to do sports journalism or be a music producer. I try not to think about Jack leaving

home. I had him at 42 and most of my friends had their children much younger, so I have seen them all go through empty nest syndrome. I remember Jack’s first school trip. He was nine and it was only two nights away, but walking into his empty bedroom, I had one of those awful, morbid moments, thinking, ‘What if something happens? What if he doesn’t come back?’ I actually picked up his pillow and was sniffing it. I can’t imagine a time when I don’t know what Jack’s doing, but when he goes to university, that will be most days. I do wish I’d had more children, but you have still got to face them leaving home, even if you have five.

LOOKING AHEAD

It’s important not to lose your sense of self. I’ve seen it happen when the last child goes. You look across the breakfast table [at your husband] and go, ‘Who is this person looking back at me? I don’t know him.’ While your children become your world, you mustn’t lose sight of your relationship. I actually look forward to the time when Eamonn and I can go, ‘Right, that’s them sorted,’ and we’re not as restricted. I’m fairly confident that when we get there, our marriage will be in as good a place as it is now.

‘I still get slightly scared by live TV. But that keeps me on my toes!’