Coleen Nolan made a cheeky comment about Ruth Langsford’s lengthy absence from Loose Women.

Ruth took some time away from the ITV lunchtime show earlier this year following her split from husband Eamonn Holmes.

The pair had been married for decades but shockingly announced their split earlier this year.

In a joint statement, their spokespeople confirmed the split, sharing: “Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes have confirmed their marriage is over and they are in the process of divorcing.”

Since then, Ruth has made her return to the panel show for a week or so before heading off for some pre-arranged time off.

During a chat on today’s show, they were discussing what was coming up when Ruth couldn’t think of the word to explain what she was saying. Coleen quickly jumped in to say the word, with Ruth thanking her colleague. Coleen then made a cheeky jibe at Ruth’s absence from the show, where she said Ruth had been “off for a while”.

Ruth returned to Loose Women last month following her marriage split. In her first appearance on the show since the pair went their separate ways, she said: “Welcome to your first Loose Women of the week, it’s great to have your company!” whilst Coleen stepped in to say: “Can I just say? I am so so happy that you’re back!”

The entire audience cheered as Janet Street Porter said: “Thank god! Thank god! I was left with her and her!” before Ruth apologised and added: “I’m sorry, Janet. I won’t do it again,” as they all discussed her taking an extended break from the show.

Since then, they have discussed a number of topics – but nothing specifically about Eamonn. One of the topics they chatted about was distancing themselves from toxic friends. Introducing the segment, Ruth said: “A journalist said today that female friends are too toxic to bother with and she says that women can be too catty, overly sensitive and competitive over everything from marriage to body shape. Is she right?” as panellist Myleene Klass responded: “I think it’s so lazy to make that kind of comment. It’s just women being put against women and it’s never done to men. I couldn’t disagree more because my girlfriends are my absolute rock through divorce, miscarriage and everything. I call them my 4am because there are some girlfriends I know I can rely on to ring at 4am. I had one girlfriend who knocked on my door at 2am because she didn’t hear from me.”