GB News host Eamonn Holmes has opened up on a fatherly act which left him “ashamed”, admitting he would “never have done it to his daughter”.
Speaking to cohost Ellie Costello, Eamonn reflected on parenting his four children and recalled one incident with his son, which “put him to shame”.
The admission came as the GB News Breakfast anchors were debating if it is acceptable to smack your children, following new statistics which reveal eight in 10 parents now believe the punishment is wrong.
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Delivering his verdict on smacking children, Eamonn stated: “Do you know what I’m going to tell you? to tell you? I was smacked as a child, but I literally couldn’t do it.”
Ellie then teased Eamonn: “Aww, so you’re a big softy!”
Eamonn told GB News viewers: “Well, you love your children so much, it’s very hard. They can infuriate you, and you can try and punish them in other ways at times.
“But to actually physically hit your child… I could hit people, there’s a lot of people I could hit, but not children.”
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Quizzing Eamonn further, Ellie asked him: “So you never smacked your children?”
Eamonn briefly paused before admitting that he had on one occasion with his son: “Well… I did. It was one of my four children.”
He recalled the incident, explaining: “One of my four children was different, was a bit temperamental. And to my shame, I actually stopped the car one day, pulled him out and smacked him at the side of the road.”
Ellie was shocked, exclaiming: “Oh dear! Did it work? Was he well behaved after that?”
Eamonn then quipped: “No, no, goodness me. He’s still as bad today and he’s 32. But besides that, I would be ashamed of that.
“I would be ashamed of that. I’ve got my daughter, and I could never have done that to my daughter.”
Ellie then concluded: “I think it was very normal back then, and maybe it’s different with girls.
“I think a lot of people would say it’s different with girls.”