Eamonn Holmes reveals ‘personal’ connection to Madeleine McCann disappearance: ‘It could have been one of my children’
GB News host Eamonn Holmes has revealed a “personal” connection to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, admitting it “could have been one of his children”.
The Breakfast host reflected on the disappearance of the toddler in 2007, recalling his own family holiday to the region around the time she went missing.
Opening up on his connection with co-host Ellie Costello, Eamonn recalled “hugging his son more” as they walked through the airport after spotting posters of missing Madeleine.
Eamonn told GB News viewers: “I think so many people relate to it because it could have been their child. I take it all sort of quite personally, because we holidayed in the area, and I had children the same age at the time.
“I remember going into Faro Airport, and the posters of her all around there, asking ‘have you seen this girl?’ And my kids were very aware of it, and they would point out and talk about it.”
Noting that his son Jack was a similar age to Madeleine McCann at the time she went missing in 2007, Eamonn spoke of his overwhelming sense of protection for his child.
Eamonn said: “My youngest boy is the same age as Madeleine would be now, and I can remember once passing by a poster, and he was four at the time.
“I just remember hugging him a bit more and and thinking, who the heck has done this? Are they still out there? Whose child would be safe here?”
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Eamonn concluded: “So I do take it personally, as it could have been as easily one of my children involved in all of this.”
Offering comfort and support to her co-host, Ellie then added: “I think a lot of people in the country would feel that way, it’s in the nation’s psyche, isn’t it?
“Madeleine McCann, we all know her, we know her face, we feel as though we know her as a little girl, and I think everybody would like to have answers as to what happened to her.”
Discussing the fresh search for evidence in McCann’s case, Ellie expressed hope for “answers” after so many years of unanswered questions: “Let’s hope something is found. These searches, as we know, are going to continue until Friday unless, of course, fresh evidence is found, in which case they will continue.”
German police are conducting fresh searches in Portugal this week as part of their ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The searches will take place near where the three-year-old was last seen in the resort of Praia da Luz.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed the force’s awareness of the German operation: “We are aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
“The Metropolitan Police Service is not present at the search, we will support our international colleagues where necessary.”