'Don't let age hold you back

TV presenter Ruth Langsford on weight gain, growing older and caring for husband Eamonn Holmes

- ARIANA LONGSON

A regular on Loose Women and TV veteran, in many ways, Ruth Langsford feels like a friend. The warm nature and honesty you see on the ITV daytime show translates in person, and whether it's on ageing, weight gain or her highly anticipated return to This Morning, the star, 64, is not afraid to lift the lid on the challenges of being a woman, specifically in the showbiz industry.

'In television, age is not always a positive [for women],' Ruth admits. 'Loose Women is fantastic and, thank God for it, but often your age can be a negative in TV?

The former Strictly contestant, whose career spans almost four decades, explains, 'You are at the mercy of programme controllers. You can have the best agent in the world and be, in your opinion, the best presenter ever, but if the person at the top of the chain doesn't want to use you, you don't get used.' Thankfully for viewers, that isn't enough to make Ruth want to quit just yet.

'I look at people around me, like Janet Street-Porter and Gloria Hunniford, who haven't retired and still love what they're doing,' she says before adding, 'That gives me joy and hope to say, "Don't let age hold you back." However, that's not to say that Ruth doesn't find the gruelling hours and her busy schedule tougher as she grows older. 'I love working but the older I get, the longer hours take more of a toll,' she confesses.