While most of us are used to seeing Ruth Langsford on the This Morning sofa or having a good gossip with her Loose Women friends on the TV, behind her showbiz persona, Eamonn Holmes’ wife is a down-to-earth mum who’s just as likely to be found dashing around her hometown of Weybridge in her gym kit as she is tasting cakes at her local village event.
The 57-year-old TV personality opted to live away from the bright lights of London 12 years ago when she and Eamonn became parents to their now 14-year-old son Jack, and the pair have fully immersed themselves in local life. From sending him to a local school to participating in community events, the showbiz couple live very normal lives in their corner of Surrey, and HELLO! caught up with the cake loving mother-of-one at the Great Weybridge Cake Off event to discuss all aspects of off-screen life.
Ruth was a judge at the Great Weybridge Cake Off, with money raised for Great Ormond Street
Although Ruth and Eamonn are household names, the protective parents have ensured that when it comes to life in the public eye – their son Jack should have a say in the matter. However, when he was younger – he did grace the pages of a certain magazine. “When he was a baby we did a photoshoot with HELLO! But once they are older I think unless they want to be in the public eye I think it is up to him to decide.” As a result, Ruth makes sure to never put pictures of him on social media. “Just because we are in the public eye it doesn’t mean he has to,” she added.
And living in a tight-knit community also means that Ruth and Eamonn are treated just like anyone else. “I can walk around the high street and I don’t have to have my make-up on and people see me in my gym kit and on the school run, so it’s nothing special to them. You don’t feel like you are in a goldfish bowl here,” she explained.
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The same goes for her son, who has grown up seeing his parents on TV. However, that doesn’t stop them from embarrassing him from time to time. “They get much more self-conscious when they are teenagers so he hates it if we do anything [embarrassing] like dancing around or trying to be trendy…or if we kiss,” she laughed.
Ruth and Eamonn live in a close-knit community with their 14-year-old son Jack
Working on numerous television shows means that there is little down time for Ruth, but when she has a spare second, she is more than happy to get stuck into fundraising events in her town. As the guest judge of a local baking contest - the Great Weybridge Cake Off, she had the difficult task of choosing the winning goods. With 73 entrants, it was no easy job, but it was all for a very good cause. Money was donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital, with the event raising a staggering £300 for the charity.
Organisers Gill Eastwood and Sharon Ferrari, said of Ruth’s participation: “It was such a pleasure to have Ruth Langsford not only presenting the prizes but participating as one of our judges, she lives locally so it makes all the difference to have a special celebrity from our home town and she is so well known by all the locals as she always shops locally.”
Ruth, who never refuses a request for quick photo ("I would never turn anyone away, it’s a second of your time") said of the afternoon. "It was a really nice event."