Eamonn Holmes heartbreak: Star pays loving tribute to mum - 'I still feel her around me every day'

"But such a presence was she I still feel her around me every day. Love you Mum x"

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Eamonn’s mum Josie died on November 22, aged 93 years when the presenter was himself dealing with health issues which left him unable to attend her funeral.

He has previously spoken about his regret at being unable to attend, telling the "How To Be 60" podcast with Kaye Adams.

"I found it very, very hard to deal with the fact that I couldn't be there. That was just the big thing.

"The biggest consolation we had was that my mum genuinely believed that when she died, the first person she would see or meet will be my father.”

Holmes, 63, had an operation on his back in September 2022 after suffering years of chronic pain.

Weeks later, he suffered a fall which left him with a broken shoulder and required a second operation.

"It was a terrible thing to ever have to contemplate that I wouldn’t be at my own mother’s funeral, that I wouldn’t be lifting her coffin.

“I was able to tell her before she died... I was in a hospital bed, she was in a hospital bed, we did a video link and I said, ‘Mum, I won't be able to be there, I can't be there'.

“And she said, ‘I don't want you there anyway'."

I said, 'that's a terrible thing to say, what do you not want me there for?’

“She said, ‘Because if you go, it'll all be about you. Everybody will be looking at you and they'll all be talking about you, and it's not your day, it’s my day'."

He then laughed as he added: “So she didn't want me there anyway, so that was fine."