Ruth Langsford made a highly-anticipated return to Loose Women following her split from Eamonn Holmes – and a body language expert says several giveaways showed how she felt about it

Ruth Langsford’s emotional return to Loose Women showed signs of ‘vulnerability’, according to a body language expert.

The TV host, 64, has been away from screens for two months following her shock split from husband and former This Morning co-star Eamonn Holmes. While Eamonn continued to work for GB News, Ruth instead took time away to process the sad news.

But in recent days, she has been reportedly keen to get back to work, and today made her highly-anticipated return to the ITV chatshow. Body language expert Judi James told the Mirror that the star gave away several ‘nervous’ gestures during her return, hinting at her feelings about Eamonn and their divorce, before taking ‘control’ of the narrative of the rest of the show.

Explaining Ruth’s ‘appropriate’ response, Judi began: “Ruth has often been the one adopting a cynical pose when certain colleagues have been taking emotive on-set dumps about their personal life on This Morning, so it was perhaps appropriate that she swerved talking about her marriage on this return to the panel of Loose Women.

Ruth Langsford said it was ‘nice to be back’ following her two-month break ( 
Image:
Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

“Her body language did hint at some vulnerability though as she swept out on set in her resilient-looking orangey-red jacket. There was a two-handed ‘baby wave’ at the audience as though to signal she was anxious but okay in reply to all their empathetic and supportive smiles.”

Judi added: “There were some signals of bracing herself and re-booting as she pushed her sleeves up to get down to business and tapped her pen on the desk in a gesture of control. Her body bristled as she prepped for action and her chin and brows rose high in a gesture of authority.”

As the show began, Ruth told viewers at home: “Welcome to your first Loose Women of the week, it’s great to have your company!” While her ex-husband wasn’t mentioned, co-star Coleen Nolan acknowledged the elephant in the room and said how pleased she was to have her back leading the panel. Ruth responded: “It’s nice to be back”.

Judi further commented: “It was Coleen raising one hand dramatically as though to stop the show before turning her chair to gaze at Ruth in the face that gave a hint that things were going to get more personal, and that Ruth was about to get her hankie out. But it turned out that Coleen was just welcoming her back to the show and the two women indulged in some suitably girlie cooing noises before turning back and getting on with their jobs.”

The former This Morning hosts announced their separation in a joint statement in May ( 
Image:
Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Ruth attended the show’s planning meetings and the run-through earlier today at the West London studios, before then going on air at lunchtime. She took to her Instagram Stories to share a video of the Loose Women sign at the studio as she walked down the hallways. The star also panned the camera to the neon ‘Let’s get loose!’ sign.

Ruth captioned the post: “Back on the Loose! Hope you can join us!” It was said that she won’t be discussing the split with Eamonn in depth on the show and friends say she wants it to be a normal show and is keen to get back to work.

A friend of Ruth, who was last on the ITV show in April, told the Mirror: “It has been a tough few weeks but now she feels it is time for her to get back to Loose Women. It is a job she loves doing and even though the split has been very tough, life must go on. Just don’t expect any big news or revelations about the divorce, she wants to keep that private.” Ruth was joined on the panel show by Coleen Nolan, Brenda Edwards and Janet Street-Porter.

Eamonn and Ruth met in 1997 ( 
Image:
Getty Images)Meanwhile, Eamonn has continued to carry out his presenting duties while struggling with ongoing health problems due to chronic back issues. Speaking in January Eamonn said the “harsh reality” could be that he may never be able to walk alone again unaided. Earlier this month Eamonn spoke about standing up and “aiming to walk next” in the last few days. But when one fan said “You’re doing well Eamonn” he replied “If only, but thanks x”.

He has been spending time with relationship counsellor Katie Alexander, 42, who has been on several outings with the GB News presenter in the past 12 months, and has also been pictured at his home. Ruth reportedly knew little about their friendship.

It is thought both Eamonn and Ruth would like their divorce finalised in the coming months, but there is understood to be a long way to go with negotiations behind the scenes. Speaking at the TRIC awards last month, Eamonn said “I’m not okay. This is not a good time at all.” When asked about whether he and Ruth will continue to have a relationship of any kind, Eamonn added: “It’s too early to say but I hope we can still be friends.”

The showbiz couple met in 1997 when they were introduced by mutual friends and they then dated for over a decade before Eamonn popped the question and they married in 2010. Before the split, they had not been photographed together for two years.