Eamonn Holmes recalls clash with Anne Robinson
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Eamonn Holmes, 62, recalled the moment ex-Countdown presenter Anne Robinson, 77, left him reeling. The This Morning presenter claimed the former Weakest Link host said he had “sacrificed fatherhood for fame”.
She was supposedly commenting on how Eamonn balanced his career in London with his family living in Northern Ireland.
The ITV broadcaster made the admission during his candid interview on RTÉ One’s The Meaning of Life on Sunday.
Eamonn shares three children with his ex-wife Gabrielle – eldest son Declan, 33, Rebecca, 31, and Niall, 29, who are based in Belfast.
The presenter shares youngest son Jack, 20, with his wife and co-star Ruth Langsford and they reside in Surrey, England.
The daytime presenter explained that he would always be there for his children despite his busy schedule, as he addressed Anne’s remarks.
“This is coming from a man who would fly back from London for his kids’ school sports days, who would take the last flight out of Belfast at 10 o’clock at night when he’d tucked them up in bed at 8pm, you know, who just was there for them all the time at every need for them,” Eamonn commented.
“And this is the man who went into an airport lounge one Sunday morning, very, very early in Belfast, and there was one other person in that lounge and it was Anne Robinson.”
He continued: “I walked over to her and I simply said, very coldly and heartfelt meant, ‘If you were a bloke, I would knock your f**king head off. I just want you to know that.'”
Eamonn claimed that Anne responded to his anger by saying she was “only joking”.
Speaking last year he said that the former Countdown presenter later apologised for her comments while they were sitting on a plane together.
Eamonn added: “Subsequently Anne Robinson then asked me to sit beside her on the plane and I thought twice about it and I sat down beside her, and we had a very enlightening conversation, a very sensible conversation, and she apologised.
“What can you do when someone apologises? You are left with a choice whether you forgive or don’t forgive, and I decided to forgive her.”
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Express.co.uk has contacted Anne Robinson’s representatives for comment.
Eamonn split from his first wife Gabrielle in 1996, after ten years of marriage.
He met his now-wife Ruth for the first time in 1997 thanks to his role at GMTV.
Eamonn and Ruth married in 2010, and they welcomed their son Jack in 2002.
Meanwhile, in the same RTÉ interview, Eamonn broke down in tears as he opened up about the death of his late father.
The This Morning host’s dad Leonard suffered a fatal heart attack while driving in the countryside of Northern Ireland aged 65 and recalled the harrowing experience in his 2006 autobiography, This Is My Life.
The presenter admitted he believed he was going to die just six weeks after his dad’s death as he struggled to breathe.
He explained: “One time I was in Israel and I began to feel ill. My heart starting beating and I was losing my breath.”
Eamonn added that he “passed out” after being taken away in an ambulance.
Reflecting on the ordeal, the presenter believes he became claustrophobic at the time due to having to fly to get home.
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