Eamonn Holmes has sparked concern over his escalating health battle, after falling off his chair on live TV.
The veteran producer, 65, was presenting his regular breakfast show on GB News when he suddenly toppled off his chair while the cameras were 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.
He shared a photo on Instagram of the inside of an ambulance revealing: ‘An unexpected journey this morning… bit of a fall on the bathroom floor. Gosh it hurts. Thank you ambulance crew.’
In a later post, he said: ‘Not how I wanted to be spending The Holiday weekend…but life is not easy these days.
Now, MailOnline details the lengthy ordeal the presenter has suffered with various health conditions, beginning with chronic back pain nearly 40 years a go.
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.
Double hip replacement (2016)
Mr Holmes underwent a double hip replacement in 2016, in a surgery that lasted over three hours, hoping that it would alleviate his chronic back pain.
The surgery involves replacing damaged parts of the hip joint with metal, plastic or ceramic parts and is most commonly used to treat pain and stiffness in the joint.
Eamonn has been very open about his journey, and follows a strict physiotherapy regime
Shingles (2018)
In 2018, the presenter faced yet another agonising diagnosis, which could have left him blind, after suffering severe stress over a £250,000 tax row.
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.
This blistering painful rash, typically confined to one area—usually one side of the face or body—is shingles.
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 also known triggers.
In severe cases, it can trigger complications such as inflammation in and around the brain, excruciating pain and affect the eyes, all of which require hospital treatment.
Slipped discs and sciatica (2021)
Mr Holmes’ chronic back pain started in spring 2021, which he said came out of nowhere.
The pain was so severe that he became reliant on a walking stick, before finally finding out the cause of the excruciating pain.
The TV personality had suffered three slipped discs, which affected his range of motion in his right leg.
The pain become so severe that it left Eamonn reliant on a walking stick, but soon found out the root cause
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.’
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 which 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 (2022)
Mr Holmes eventually underwent spinal surgery in 2022, after he was forced to take a step back from his job as a presenter for GB News.
His battle with chronic back pain started after a dislocated pelvis led to three slipped discs.
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
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.
His spinal surgery left him with a weakened left leg, and just over two weeks into his recovery from the operation, he fell backwards down 18 stairs at his Weybridge home, landing on hard stone flooring.
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 (2023)
Just a year after his spinal surgery, Mr Holmes underwent a spine and neck stretching procedure in September 2023 after admitting that he couldn’t walk.
He said that, following his spinal surgery, his condition had significantly.
‘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 the affected nerves.
Most people are able to walk unassisted within a day of having the operation, 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.
