AFTER more than two decades of friendship, my dear pal Eamonn Holmes confides in me a lot – from worries about his health to updates about his blossoming relationship with Katie Alexander.
But when I spoke to him last, I couldn’t help but worry as he told me he’s facing his biggest battle yet.
Now Eamonn is so immobile he is struggling to get back to his beloved Northern Ireland and spend time with his children and grandkids – and it’s breaking his heart.
Having both grown up in Belfast and moved to London to fulfil our dreams of being journalists (albeit a few decades apart) and I formed a great friendship from the first time meeting at an awards bash in the early Noughties.
He was a constant support and took on the role of career mentor to me, often pulling me to the side to give me an exclusive interview – much to the irritation of my rival journalists.
We’ve been to each other’s homes and he’s met my family – it’s a friendship that extends beyond work. He’s even been known over the years to offer me romantic advice.
So it upsets me to see my great pal struggle through his health woes and put on a brave face despite being in constant agony.
After years of and sleepless nights, he finally had a at 55 in 2016, as a result of acongenital defect that wore away the cartilage around the socket.
Then he was struck down with in 2018 on the day of his eldest son, Declan’s wedding.
In 2021, he discovered he had three slipped discs and a trapped sciatic nerve that affected the movement in his right leg and stopped him doing basic tasks.
Itled to him in September 2022, after which he had to “learn to walk”;; again.
But his recovery suffered asetback when he fell down a spiral staircase and injured his shoulder, requiring further surgery.
A year later he underwent a spine and neck stretching procedure in September 2023, after admitting he “couldn’t walk”;;.
And earlier this week, he left fans worried about his health after on Wednesday’s GB News.
At 6.15am, a crash was heard off screen and his co-presenter Ellie Costello exclaimed: “Oh my gosh”;;.
Eamonn was then heard saying: “I’m fine, fine, fine, carry on, carry on.”;;
After an extended six-minute ad break, Eamonn returned to screens, joking: “I’m still alive”;; and blaming the “wonky”;; wheels on his chair.
He added: “It was a shock for me because I had a fall two weeks ago in my bathroom that hospitalised me and that hit me right in the back.
“And that hit me again right in the back. It’s really, really sore – really sore.”;;
Eamonn was earlier this month after taking a tumble at home.
Sharing a picture of an ambulance on Instagram he said: “An unexpected journey this morning... bit of a fall on the bathroom floor. Gosh it hurts. Thank you Ambulance crew.”;;
Knowing Eamonn so well, his attitude would very much be that the show must go on.
While he was absent from the show the following day, it won’t be long before he’s back on our screens as work is his greatest love.
Eamonn, who has never forgotten his roots, gets up in the middle of the night to read every newspaper and briefing and be prepped and ready to present his GB News breakfast show every morning.
The last time I saw Eamonn, 64, was when he wasacting as Master of Ceremonies at The Irish Post Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel.
Sat in a wheelchair and clearly in pain, the consummate professional Eamonn still continued to deliver and kept the crowd amused with his witty banter.
It was the first showbiz event he had attended with his partner, psychologist 43.
BIGGEST BATTLE
But he admitted the biggest battle of his health woes is inability to get back to his beloved Belfast and see – Declan, 36, Rebecca, 34, and Niall, 32 – from his first marriage.
He also has a 23-year-old son Jack with
He told me: “I’ve never forgotten where I came from.
“It’s great to represent Northern Ireland... I’ve loved being back in Belfast and spending time with my family, particularly my grandkids, Emelia, three, and one-year-old Isabella.”;;
Airports work really well if you have a disability but it’s made me very aware of how difficult life is for people who are wheelchair bound.
Eamonn Holmes
Reflecting on how his mobility has hindered his ability to go back home, he previously told me: “It’s too much to go to Belfast. It’s too much hassle.
“The staff at George Best City Airport are superbly good to me.
“Airports work really well if you have a disability but it’s made me very aware of how difficult life is for people who are wheelchair bound.
“Even if you do have accessibility, sometimes it’s not big enough to get the chair in through the door or it opens the wrong way.
“You just would not believe the inaccessibility to get into restaurants or hotels or theatres or football grounds. It’s just absolutely unbelievable.”;;
It’s a far cry from the man who at the start of his career in London would commute back to Northern Ireland jumping on a plane every weekend.
He reminisced about once making an appearance on Noel’s House Party saying: “I got the last flight back to Belfast at about 10 o’clock from Heathrow.
“So British Midland flight back and I was at a dinner partyon the Antrim Road by 11 o’clock.
“I remember having a good night in somebody else’s house and thinking ‘that’s how to do it – television at seven o’clock and then home here 11 o’clock at night with all your friends.’ Absolutely. Great.”;;
His travel woes also impact his relationship with the 43-year-old psychologist.
Eamonn is based in apenthouse flat in Kingston, South-West London whereas Katie prefers to stay in her native Yorkshire where she co-parents her two teenage children with her ex-husband.
The couple earlier this week when Katie posted a reel on social media of a recent day out with the TV presenter, who
Set to the The Levellers’ song What a Beautiful Day, Katie captioned the cute snaps: “Lovely weather.... Lovely company.”;;
The photos showed the blonde dressed in a polka dot dress as she posed in the sunshine alongside Eamonn and her dog Dottie.
Over the yearsEamonn has tried all kinds of treatments – both traditional and complementary medicines to try and aid his recovery.
He once joked to me: “Honestly I’d drinkhorse pee if it worked for me.
“I spend a lot of money on trying to get better. I’m just taking every chance.”;;
The proud man also admitted having to rely on his friends and family is something he finds hard.
He told me: “My son Niall, what shall we call him? My assistant, my other crutch.
“I do my best but I still need help from quite a few people. It makes me feel humble, helpful but grateful.
“The frustration, the indignity of having to say ‘please may I have ...’ 175 times a day.
“I’m doing everything I can to get better but it’s slow.”;;
APPRECIATION FOR LIFE
Eamonn who has been on our screens for more than 40 years admits that it’s his job that keeps him sane.
He explains: “Work. I must use my brain.I can walk and sit like I do on GB News so I’m grateful.
“I like getting out. I haven’t lost my need to work. What is the point of not doing things?
“I thank God that mentally I can cope ... I have a joie de vivre.”;;
Despite all his health woes, Eamonn still has an appreciation for life, especially knowing his dad Leonard died at 65 from a heart attack.
He explained: “My dad was dead by my age, so any extra is a bonus.
“Your health is your wealth. You miss it when it’s gone. Look after yourself as much as you can is my advice.”;;
Reflecting on his own mortality back in 2020, he told me: “I think there’s a certain morbidity where you think you’ve only got so many years left, and that’s why I think lockdown has concentrated my mind in terms of right the clock’s ticking, what have you got to do while you’re still alive.
“I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do my friend, butI do feel the clock’s ticking and you sort of feel I want more time.
“We don’t know the brevity of life, we don’t know how long we have left, and we have a duty to live it as best as we can.”;;
