Eamonn Holmes has sparked concern over his escalating health battle, after falling off his chair on live TV.
The 65-year-old experienced producer was hosting his usual morning show on GB News when he suddenly fell off his chair as the cameras focused on guest speaker, Charlie Rowley.
He could then be heard saying: ‘I’m fine, fine fine, carry on, carry on,’ before the show cut to an advertisement break.
The show resumed with Holmes explaining to his co-host Ellie Costello that he fell because of the ‘wonky wheels’ on the studio chairs.
The incident comes just weeks after Mr Holmes was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, after suffering a fall at his home in Weybridge on 2 May.
On Instagram, he posted a picture from inside an ambulance and wrote: ‘An unexpected journey this morning… had a fall on the bathroom floor. Ouch, it’s painful. Grateful to the ambulance crew for their help.’
In a later post, he said: ‘Not how I wanted to be spending The Holiday weekend…but life is not easy these days.
MailOnline now outlines the prolonged challenges the host has faced due to various health issues, which started nearly four decades ago with persistent back pain.
The TV personality was rushed to hospital earlier this month when he suffered a fall in his home in Weybridge. He shared the details of the scare with his 776,000 Instagram followers
Despite pain in his back and hips beginning in the late 1980s, the father-of-four only listened to doctors’ advice to undergo a hip replacement in 2016, aged 55.
He has suffered multiple setbacks since then, including a dislocated pelvis and three slipped discs.
Today, he relies on a wheelchair, walking frame and crutches due to continued chronic back pain.
Life-long hip problems
The broadcaster previously revealed that he was born with a defect that causes the cartilage around his hip socket to ‘wear away’ over time.
The problem say him ‘lose’ his 30s ‘to intense pain’.
In his 40s, he gained weight and was unable to exercise, which may have helped the condition, he said.
He eventually underwent a double hip replacement in 2016—a surgery that lasted over three hours, hoping that it would alleviate his chronic pain.
Eamonn has been very open about his journey, and follows a strict physiotherapy regime
But he later revealed his regret at waiting too long to undergo the procedure, saying it was ‘the worst decision’ he’s ever made.
Shingles
In 2018, the presenter faced yet another agonising diagnosis, which could have left him blind.
Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus—a member of the herpes family that most people contract as children, and also causes chickenpox.
Once a person is infected, the virus stays dormant in the body but can, if the immune system is temporarily weakened, reactivate.
The infection can lead to a blistering painful rash, typically confined to one area—usually one side of the face or body.
Eamonn detailed his battle with shingles in 2018 and how he was struck with the virus on his son Declan’s wedding day
Describing the illness, the TV star told The Mirror: ‘I was like a lamb to the slaughter—it was the most stressful, humiliating experience.’
‘It was scary to see it. It looked as if someone had taken a baseball bat to my face and smashed me about a bit.
‘Blindness could have been a complication in my case. The doctor said it’s really bad for you because it’s around your eyes, and could be bad for your ophthalmic nerves. Medically, it was pretty serious.’
Stress and other infections that temporarily weaken the immune system are known triggers.
In severe cases, it can trigger complications such as inflammation in and around the brain, which requires urgent hospital treatment.
Slipped discs and sciatica
While the double hip replacement improved Holmes’ chronic back pain somewhat, the agony started up again in spring 2021, which he said came out of nowhere.
The pain was so severe that he became reliant on a walking stick.
Scans later revealed that the TV personality had suffered three slipped discs, which affected his range of motion in his right leg.
He said: ‘I still thought it would go away, but it didn’t. The knock-on effect was that I lost a lot of use in my right leg.’
The pain become so severe that it left Eamonn reliant on a walking stick, but soon found out the root cause
A slipped disc—also known as a prolapsed or herniated disc—happens when the soft tissue between the bones in the spine bulges outwards.
Symptoms usually get better with rest, gentle exercise and painkillers, but when the tissue presses on nerves it can be extremely painful, the NHS warns.
This can sometimes cause sciatica, which occurs when the nerve that runs from the lower back to the feet becomes irritated or compressed.
Common symptoms usually affect the back of one leg, causing a sharp burning pain, tingling like pins and needs and numbness or weakness.
Some people will also experience back pain.
Spinal surgery
Mr Holmes eventually underwent spinal surgery in 2022 to realign his vertebrae, resolving problems that resulted from the slipped discs.
The TV favourite was forced to take a step back from his job as GB News presenter due to his ill health.
Following his surgery, he revealed that despite physiotherapy, his lack of mobility still stops him from doing simple things, forcing him to rely on others.
In September 2022, Eamonn was forced to step away from his GB news show as he underwent vital back surgery to aid his chronic back pain (pictured pushed by his son in February 2023)
Eamonn has undergone multiple surgeries to try and alleviate his chronic back pain
The major procedure left him with a weakened left leg, which resulted in a fall down 18 stairs at his Weybridge home just two weeks after the op.
The horrific accident, which he said could have killed him, left him with a broken shoulder, and his legs further weakened.
Spine and neck stretching surgery
A year after his spinal surgery, Holmes underwent a spine and neck stretching procedure to help him regain the ability to walk independently.
He said that, following his spinal surgery, his condition had significantly declined.
‘I can’t run, I can’t walk, I can’t do anything except watch TV and eat’, he explained at the time.
Lumbar decompression was used to relieve pressure on nerves that were damaged during the operation.
Most people are able to walk unassisted within a day of having the procedure, though it can take up to six weeks to be able to recover fully.
Mr Holmes has since been seen using a wheelchair as he continues to suffer from chronic back pain.
