Eamonn Holmes will be back on TV next week as he returns to screens for the first time since going public with his new lover.
The GB News presenter, 64, was pictured on holiday with Katie Alexander after announcing his split from Loose Women panellist Ruth Langsford in May.
Holmes and relationship counsellor Alexander, 42, were pictured looking very alike as they enjoyed a romantic cruise getaway to Spain.
Reports claimed the star had taken three weeks off, but Mail Online has learned he will return on Monday alongside his co-presenter Isabel Webster.
A source said: ‘Eamonn has had a wonderful holiday and has enjoyed spending time with Katie. But he is looking forward to getting back to work.
Eamonn Holmes will be back on TV next week when he returns to GB News with Isobel Webster for the first time since going public with his new lover.
The 64-year-old presenter was pictured on holiday with Katie Alexander after announcing his split from co-star Ruth Langsford in May.
“Eamonn has had a tough few months due to health problems and his split from Ruth. But throwing himself into work has helped him a lot. He can’t wait to get back to his regular job.”
Our story comes after Holmes hit out at trolls who had criticised him for his new relationship.
Since returning to the UK, the Irish presenter has rubbed shoulders with actress Kate Beckinsale, daughter of the late Porridge and Rising Damp star Richard Beckinsale, after meeting her for the first time at an event in London on Monday night.
The former This Morning presenter liked a series of messages posted on Instagram encouraging people to be kind.
But Beckinsale’s decision to strike a series of suggestive poses while being snapped alongside a receptive Holmes opened the floodgates on social media, with fans divided over her post-split antics.
Returning to Instagram on Tuesday, Holmes, evidently unhappy with the online reaction, chimed in by liking a handful of supportive messages, including one that read: “So many nasty comments! If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all…”
Another message the presenter chose as a favourite read: “Everyone learns to be kind from the comments that appear here. Leave him alone.”
“I’m not interested in stupid comments, let’s remember the amazing Richard Beckinsale,” wrote a third supporter.
Holmes married Loose Women panel member Langsford in 2010 at Elvetham Hall, a Grade II listed building in Hampshire (pictured 2022)
Reports claimed the star had taken three weeks off, but Mail Online has learned he will return to GB News on Monday.
As exclusively revealed by the Daily Mail, Holmes’ recent cruise was actually a “gift” given to her after signing a lucrative deal to be an ambassador for travel giant Not Just Travel.
In exchange for the perk, the TV presenter was forced to film content for the company’s social media platforms while enjoying a break courtesy of its cruise division, Virgin Voyages, on a ship called The Scarlet Lady.
“Although it looked like Eamonn had taken Katie on a no-expenses-spared trip, in reality it didn’t cost him a penny,” a travel source explains.
‘It was part of his deal with Not Just Travel, so if anything he got paid to go, which was really lucky, especially since he could bring a companion with him.
“There was a work element,” the source adds. “Eamonn had to film some segments to promote the venture. But the fact that he didn’t pay certainly undermines the idea that it was a romantic trip.”
‘But Katie didn’t seem to mind, it was a lovely, sunny break for her as they enjoyed their first moments of love.’
Despite their generational differences, the 22-year age difference between Holmes and new girlfriend Katie Alexander didn’t seem to be an issue during their recent European cruise.
Social media followers flooded his Instagram platform with comments after he posed for a handful of photos with actress Kate Beckinsale on Monday night.
Indeed, that was evident, particularly when Eamonn was seen shamelessly touching Katie’s bum while sitting in his wheelchair in Ibiza.
The couple were also photographed at Barcelona airport and when they returned to Heathrow.
It was a seven-day getaway, billed as a visit to the ‘irresistible Mediterranean and Rome’ and which began with Eamonn, 64, and Katie, 42, flying into Barcelona where they boarded the boat.
From there they sailed to Toulon on the Mediterranean coast of southern France, and then to Marina di Carrara, a picturesque location between Tuscany and Liguria on the northern coast of Italy.
After a stop there they sailed to Civitavecchia, 40 miles north of Rome, which still preserves its ancient Roman dock, built in the 2nd century.
Returning to Instagram on Tuesday, Holmes chimed in to respond to the backlash to a handful of supportive messages featuring a love heart symbol.
Since Langsford announced their split in May, Alexander has been visiting Holmes at her home in Kingston, Surrey, where she now lives after moving out of the £2million marital home she shared with Ruth about ten miles away.
Initially, the romance was kept under wraps, but their cruise together definitely put it on the map.
And no one will have been happier with the turn of events than bosses at Not Just Travel, who say they are “delighted” that Alexander came along.
“The deal was Eamonn’s, but having his new girlfriend definitely made the whole holiday a lot more interesting from a marketing perspective,” says an industry source.
‘His presence there will have raised the company’s profile considerably – money can’t buy that kind of publicity.
“Signing Eamonn and giving him this trip has been worth every penny.”