Eamonn Holmes has spoken out on when he was impersonated by a man who stayed in a luxury hotel for two weeks at his expense.
The North Belfast man spoke as he his returned to TV screens following back surgery and suffering an injury to his shoulder.
He told GB News : “In Belfast, there may only be one Eamonn Holmes, yet a guy was able to go and live in a hotel using my name for two solid weeks at the top hotel in Belfast.
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“No one thought of saying, ‘you’re not as handsome as Eamonn Holmes, you just couldn't be Eamonn Holmes' but he went and he lived in a central Belfast hotel for two weeks..."
Eamonn added: “And then he bought building materials, slabs, concrete, marble fireplaces, all sorts of things.”
In 2011, the fraudster lived at the Europa Hotel in Belfast for two weeks with a credit card that had Eamonn’s name on it.
Eamonn said: “At the end of this, the judge said it's a victimless crime so he wasn't sent away.
“The judge basically thought that I should meet up with this guy and reconcile with him, whatever it is, and I basically told him where to stick it.
“It isn’t a victimless crime. You begin to suspect people around you, people who work for you, all sorts of things. So you suspect lots of things and there's the stress about it.
“I was very lucky in the fact that the bank reimbursed me but the idea that this is victimless is wrong.”
In 2014, John Cartmill, 32, admitted to running up thousands of pounds on Holmes' card including £17,000 of building materials.
Eamonn’s comment came on his long awaited return to GB News - which saw him show off a lunchbox prepared by wife Ruth Langsford.
Talking about his comeback he said: “I’m not better, but I’m better than I was and I hope that work will help in the healing process.”
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