Moment Alison Hammond’s hunky Russian boyfriend, 26, skinny dips in freezing lake at Putin’s summer hideout – as friend says ‘strong and silent’ masseur is ‘perfect’ for This Morning star

This morning, Alison Hammond’s handsome Russian boyfriend bares all as he takes a naked dip in an icy lake.

Model and masseur David Putman, who is 23 years younger than the cheerful Alison, 49, dove into the water in a remote beauty in the Caucasus Mountains, near his birthplace in Russia’s Krasnodar region.

As the temperature hovers above 10 degrees Celsius and most people are wisely dressed warmly, an onlooker can be heard cheering David on, saying, “You have to be completely immersed in nature… without pants.”

The beautiful Kardyvach Lake, which sits at an altitude of 2,000 meters and has no fish swimming in it, is a popular tourist attraction and close to where Russian leader Vladimir Putin owns two palaces as well as a secret mountain skiing retreat.

David and Alison got together after she booked him for a £150 massage session, and he is now a regular visitor to her home after the pair’s romance blossomed.

He moved to Britain two years ago to avoid being drafted to the front line and a friend said: ‘When the war in Ukraine started, David’s mother Olga started to worry.

“She didn’t want her boys involved. She wanted to keep them safe, like any mother world,” so he moved to Slough, Berkshire, where his uncle Nigel, 71, lives, but he spends a lot of time in London.

David also has British citizenship through his father – also called David – and was therefore able to avoid being drafted into the Russian army.

David snr is said to be a welder who moved to Russia in the late 1990s to marry architect Olga Kovalenko after the breakdown of his first marriage.

David also has two siblings, Apollo and Sviatoslov, twins three years older than him and who live in England.

A friend of his said: ‘David is a very quiet, humble and thoughtful person who enjoys playing the guitar. He’s the strong, silent type, not a pushover, but not talkative like Alison.

‘In that sense they are a perfect match and for David age is just a number. Fame doesn’t bother him, he probably didn’t even know who Alison was when they first met.’

Last September, Alison hinted she has a new secret boyfriend after sharing a cryptic sex confession on Loose Women Live.

She joined fellow ITV Daytime presenters Christine Lampard, Denise Welch, Brenda Edwards, Linda Robson and Janet Street-Porter for a show at the London Palladium.

During the event, Chrstine asked the panel, “Who has the most jiggy-jigs?” Alison replied: ‘How are you doing in Birmingham? I think we’re up there, I really do…’

The laughing out loud cheeky Brummie then added: ‘Well, that’s me.’

Alison also revealed that she has ‘always been afraid’ of commitment, but is now ready to tie the knot when Mr Right comes along.

She was previously engaged to taxi driver Noureddine Boufaied, the father of her son Aidan, 19, but claimed she was ‘not ready for marriage at that time’.

Alison also dated landscaper Ben Hawkins for two years before they split a few months ago.

But she now seems completely committed to David, after sharing photos of them together, while photos on his social media clearly show his Russian upbringing.

In several photos he can be seen in a traditional choir, dressed in national costumes and especially in Cossack costumes.

He appears as a poster boy for Cossack warriors and is also seen in several photos posing with his mother – who is also a painter.

Its apparent close ties to the Cossacks – a group with deep historical roots strongly associated with military service, especially prolific in the Krasnodar region, and known as the Kuban.

During the war, the Kuban pledged their loyalty to Putin and their willingness to fight in the war.

According to reports, by May 2023 – when David had left Russia – around 4,000 ‘volunteer’ Cossack fighters from his region had been sent to frontline positions in the war.