This Morning's Ruth and Eamonn explain separate Christmas plans

This Morning presenters Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes are set to spend Christmas apart this year, but the couple have explained there's a very good reason for it.

The husband and wife team will be celebrating the festive period in different parts of the UK for 2021, with Eamonn set to travel to Belfast in Northern Ireland while Ruth remains in England.

Speaking to Woman & Home, the This Morning favourites revealed that they often face a "dilemma" of how to split their time with their extended families.

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"We have this issue now, in that we've got a sea dividing us," Eamonn said

"We often have a dilemma of whether I go to Belfast [or] whether Ruth comes with me. But Ruth wants to be with her mum. My mother is 93 this year. It's easier for us often to be apart."

Both Ruth and Eamonn are philosophical about the situation, however. "Being apart for Christmas has never been a problem," Ruth added, saying that she needs to be with her mum for this year's celebrations.

"I wouldn't be going to Belfast this year, because I need to be with my mum. It's about family for me," she said.

Meanwhile, Ruth's Loose Women co-star Coleen Nolan recently offered her reaction to Ruth and Eamonn's smaller role on This Morning, calling it "horrendous".

this morning eamonn holmes and ruth langsford

ITV

The popular ITV show used to be fronted by Ruth and Eamonn on Fridays and during school holidays, but last year, Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary were drafted in to take over the Friday slot.

"Yeah, it was horrendous," Coleen said of the pair's reduced role. "There's loads I could say about the politics that goes on in our industry. But you can't fight it, you've just got to accept it. And that's hard because she's a friend who I think is brilliant."

This Morning airs on weekdays from 10am on ITV.