Eamonn Holmes' reconciliation with 'ex' left Ruth Langsford 'livid' before split

Eamonn Holmes and Anthea Turner buried the hatchet after years of animosity, but Ruth Langsford appeared to be unhappy over their newfound peace six years before they announced their split.

The GB News presenter and Anthea shared the GMTV spotlight from 1994 until 1996 when Anthea made a sensational exit amid rumours of friction with the show's chiefs over her "ambition and vanity". Reflecting on those tumultuous times during her extensive career in television, Anthea described her departure as sparking a venomous rift with Eamonn.

Speaking candidly on the Miranda Holder Weekly Fashion Podcast, Anthea opened up about feeling let down by the higher-ups at ITV, who cast her as the "ruthless" woman in the narrative. "Revenge is a dish best served sweet. Best of all, I'm still here. I thought it was sad. I just wanted to do the job I enjoyed, but unfortunately the roles have to be labelled," she disclosed.

Anthea lamented the double standards she faced, being vilified for her ambition while her male counterparts were praised. "I was always asked if I was ambitious and, if I said yes, I was made out to be a ruthless person who would walk over anybody to get where I wanted. It would be said that I was hormonal, or I was stamping my feet," she revealed.

She highlighted the disparity in treatment, noting that such labels were never applied to her male peers like Eamonn or Phillip Schofield. "You'd never hear anyone say that about Eamonn or Phillip Schofield. No, they're just doing their job.", reports the Mirror.

Reflecting on her past with GMTV, Anthea Turner confessed harboring some resentment against Eamonn Holmes, feeling a sense of "injustice" from their well-publicised clash. "I think as you get older, you look back and smile. It's more like water off a duck's back now," she reminisced.

"Nobody likes injustice, nobody wants to be misrepresented. It hurts, it really hurts."

In a bid to bury the hatchet, Eamonn extended an olive branch in 2005, leading to a 2018 This Morning interview where Anthea joined him and his wife, Ruth Langsford. Tensions evidently soared live on-air when conversation veered towards maintaining friendships with former partners.

The Blue Peter alum light-heartedly referred to her and Eamonn as once being "telly husband and wife", eliciting a visibly miffed reaction from Ruth who stated firmly that her marriage was the genuine article.

During the interaction, Eamonn attempted to ease the atmosphere. "You are an ex of mine and we're on good terms, some people think we hate each other! " he quipped.

But when Anthea agreed, remarking, "And Ruth's not bothered at all," it did little to thaw Ruths cool demeanour, as she sharply replied, "Well, we're married, properly married," only for Anthea to promptly join in, "Ah but we were telly husband and wife."

The debate on the studio set heated up when the topic of remaining chummy with an ex came up. Anthea Turner was quick with her take, "I think people are forgetting there's the sexual relationship and the friendship. If you were and are friends, there's a problem and there's a break, you can get back to the normality of friendship," she stated.

Nonetheless, Ruth Langsford took a contrasting stance, implying a potential underlying sentiment in Eamonn's amicable ties with Anthea. She contended that staying friends might be a sign of not fully letting go: "I think I've made that quite clear. They're my exes. If I met them in a room I'd be perfectly friendly but I don't want them in my life. That's done thank you very much," she declared, visibly agitated.