Eamonn Holmes breaks down in tears as he shares news of Ruth's sister's passing on This Morning

Eamonn Holmes choked up on today's episode of This Morning as he shared news of his wife Ruth's sister's death with viewers.

Rylan Clark stepped in for Ruth Langsford on the programme today, as she takes him off her work schedule to grieve her tragic loss.

Eamonn opened today's This Morning by explaining to fans of the show who didn't already know, that Ruth's sister Julia had passed away after a long illness.

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He said, "You may already be aware of the terrible bereavement that Ruth has had yesterday. On social media, she made this post to inform everyone."

But as the presenter began to read out the post, he became clearly emotional, holding back tears whilst reading out the line, "My heart is completely broken."

Rylan quickly stepped in to read out the rest of the heartbreaking post to viewers, while Eamonn gathered himself again in front of the TV cameras.

Eamonn Holmes then took time to praise Rylan, sharing how much of a support the TV star had been to him and his wife. He said, "And no one understands more than our friend and colleague Rylan, who has been a great comfort to Ruth, and a great help by stepping in today."

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Former X Factor contestant Rylan, who is close friends with the couple, continued saying, "We know Ruth is watching, and we're sending you all our love, we love you dearly.

"And Ruth's going to need time to deal with this, and so are you [Eamonn], for that matter. But I couldn't not be here."

Many of Ruth and This Morning's fans have taken to social media to share their heartfelt condolences for the star and her family, with one writing online, 'Our deepest condolence to you and your family Ruth x where thinking about you so sad xx'

As another said, 'So sorry for your loss. Heartbreaking. 😟Thoughts go out to you and your family. 😘'.