Ruth Langsford on the great love of her life (other than Eamonn)

It’s hardly surprising that Ruth Langsford ­ our June cover star ­ is a natural in front of the camera; she’s been doing it since she left school, starting her career as a newscaster in South-West England. Now 55, Ruth has been a regular panelist on Loose Women since 1999, and presents This Morning with her husband, Eamonn Holmes, also 55, every Friday and during school holidays. 
 
Born in Singapore, her army family lived in 10 different countries before she was 10. Her and Eamonn now live in Weybridge, Surrey, with their son Jack, 13.
 
Now we all know that Ruth loves her husband, Eamonn ­ even if he did propose by text message after they had been together 13 years. But the other big love in her life? Their family dog, Maggie.
 
‘We’ve had Maggie, our rescue dog, for four years now,’ she says. ‘We absolutely adore her. At a certain age you think, ‘Well, I¹m not going to have another baby’. So she’s like a surrogate child. I even hold her like a baby. I used to think people who bought presents for their dogs were a little strange, and now I’m that woman. She even had a stocking from Father Christmas. She’s so spoilt.
 
‘My husband, too, is a changed man since Maggie came along. I think he loves her more than me! He was never an animal lover ­ he was never cruel to animals, but he was never someone who would notice someone else’s dog or cat. But since we’ve got Maggie, with every single animal, even a squirrel, he’s like, ‘Aw! Look!’
 

Read our full interview with Ruth Langsford ­ and Eamonn¹s extraordinary wedding proposal ­ in w&h June ­ download the digital edition