ITV favourite Eamonn Holmes has shared a photo of himself as a teenager in a heartfelt tribute to the man who gave him his first reporting job.
The black-and-white pic shows the This Morning presenter looking dark haired and fresh faced as a 19-year-old farming reporter.
In the photo, posted for his 511k followers on Instagram, Eamonn is holding a lamb in his arms.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz-7JFmBIMy/
He captioned the snap: “I’m 19 in this pic. A titan of a man gave me a job as a farming reporter against all the odds.
“His name was Rory Fitzpatrick and he has passed away.”
“I owe him it all. #RIP Mr Fitzpatrick.”
His fans offered their condolences in the comments, with one writing, “Sorry to hear this. Well done to him for giving you that chance” and another posting, “Sorry to hear! I hope you are ok.”
Others took the opportunity to point out how handsome Eamonn was in his younger years, while some thought he looked the spitting image of his youngest son, 17-year-old Jack.
Someone commented: “Very handsome, you haven’t changed a bit.”
Echoing this, another wrote: “Good looking chap.”
A third told him: “Never lost your looks, Eamonn.”
“I can see Jack in you in this photo,” said a fourth, while someone else agreed, “Yes, Jack looks like you in this photo, you’re a handsome man.”
In his early career, Eamonn studied journalism in Dublin and worked for a business publication in the city before making his move into broadcasting.
Read more: Eamonn Holmes welcomes Ruth Langsford back to This Morning after sister’s death
He became a familiar face on morning television after joining the GMTV lineup in 1993, going on to host the programme until his departure in 2005.
He was back at ITV a year later, following a brief stint with Sky News, to present This Morning.
His wife Ruth Langsford had been made a regular on the show earlier that year and the pair have since become one of daytime TV’s best loved couples.
Eamonn shares Jack with Ruth and has three other grown-up children from his relationship with ex wife Gabrielle Holmes – Declan, 30, Rebecca, 28, and Niall, 26.
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