Eamonn Holmes to host his own show on GB News

Eamonn Holmes is to host his own show on TV channel GB News.

The former Sky News and GMTV presenter, 62, will host a new programme in the New Year, the network has announced.

Holmes said: "I've spent my career on broadcasting firsts and start-ups, and GB News is one of the most exciting yet. It's just the kind of shake-up the industry needs."

He will leave ITV's This Morning, where he and wife Ruth Langsford currently act as holiday cover.

In his statement, Holmes added: "I've admired GB News from the beginning for its clever mix of punchy debate but delivered with warmth and even some fun.

"To me the greatest honour in journalism is to give a voice and respect to the unheard, and that's exactly what GB News is all about."

Holmes and Langsford normally present ITV's This Morning during school holidays, when main presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield are away.

They previously also presented the show on Fridays. However the couple were replaced in their weekly slot by Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond. Some media outlets reported the pair were unhappy with the perceived demotion.

GB News launched in June and says it aims to "give a voice to the real Britain" and "take a frank and honest look at the world".

Holmes will join a line-up that includes former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, ex-BBC News anchor Simon McCoy, ITV veteran Alastair Stewart and former Sun journalist Dan Wootton.

However the channel has had a rocky start, with founding chairman and lead presenter Andrew Neil, the former BBC heavyweight and Sunday Times editor, leaving three months after launching it.

He said the broadcaster was moving in a direction that he had not "envisaged for the channel" and he was "in a minority of one".

In July, Guto Harri quit the network following a row over his decision to take the knee during a discussion about racism towards England's black footballers.

In 2017, Holmes was voted the UK's favourite breakfast TV presenter in a Radio Times poll.

However, he caused controversy last year on This Morning when he cast doubt on media outlets that had debunked the myth that 5G causes coronavirus.

"What I don't accept is mainstream media immediately slapping that down as not true when they don't know it's not true," he said at the time.

Broadcasting regulator Ofcom said his remarks had been "ambiguous" and "ill-judged".

Ofcom said they "risked undermining viewers' trust in advice from public authorities and scientific evidence".