‘Alarm bells go off when there’s a 20-year age gap’. Why friends fear Alison Hammond’s relationship with a Russian masseur who likes posing in his pants could end in tears – and be another heartbreak in the single mum’s tangled love life

Grinning widely as she cuddled her new man, Alison Hammond finally revealed her latest boyfriend: handsome 6-foot-2 Russian masseur, model and dancer David Putman, who is 20 years her junior.

A photo of the TV star posing next to her new boyfriend mysteriously appeared on Instagram on Monday before being deleted within minutes. Her team claims her account has been hacked.

Whatever the case, fans of the This Morning presenter caught a glimpse of her wearing a black and gray New York Yankees baseball cap and puffer jacket, while David, dressed in a smart brown jacket, proudly put his arm around her .

With glasses and a brown hat, Putman seems a bit nerdy, but like Alison, 49, he is anything but shy. Photos unearthed online show him posing nearly naked in Armani boxers, as well as other risqué snaps.

Despite having the most meteoric rise, friends say she just “wants to be loved.”

So perhaps they can be forgiven for worrying about David. One even pointed out that he’s closer in age to her 18-year-old son Aiden.

It was during a Loose Women live show at the London Palladium last autumn when Alison revealed she had a new man in her life.

‘Who has the jiggy jigs?’ asked host Christine Lampard, to which Alison wasted no time in replying, “Well, I am.”

For the popular television host, it was almost certainly a smug boast. Because she has been looking for The One for a while.

And friends now say they hope the star doesn’t get too carried away with David, who they describe as ‘quirky’ and ‘edgy’.

He was born in southern Russia and seems proud of his roots. He poses in national dress while participating in youth choirs and military attire, including black boots and a bearskin hat.

He studied as a body therapist in Sochi on the Black Sea, while his services for “classical, lymphatic drainage, anti-cellulite, wraps, facial massage” are still advertised on a Russian website.

He has relatives in Brighton, with other family connections in the UK, and has shared images of himself at pro-Palestinian marches in London.

A friend says: ‘On television, Alison is bubbly, she has a larger-than-life personality, but behind it all she is a single mother who sometimes feels lonely.

‘She has wanted to settle down for years and has had several boyfriends, but none of them have worked out. Some were a bit doubtful, you could say she is quite vulnerable when looking for love.

“Those close to her fear she will be taken advantage of. She has so much to give, she is now rich and quite famous and that worries her friends.

‘Obviously alarm bells go off if there’s a 20 year age difference, whether that’s when the man or the woman is younger, but when someone who is wealthy is involved it’s certainly normal for there to be some concern .’

You can’t blame Alison’s friends for having some fear after a series of heartbreaks for the star.

“All she’s ever wanted” is to settle down, says a friend.

Alison is said to be ‘deeply sad’ that she has not made her relationship with her son’s father, Noureddine Boufaied, a taxi driver from Manchester, work.

The couple split in 2014 and she subsequently fell in love with single dad and security guard Jamie Savage, who she met on social media. But the relationship ended after three years.

Last year it emerged that Alison was at the center of an alleged blackmail plot following claims that a male former friend threatened to release false details about her private life.

She showed West Midlands Police threatening messages she had received from him as part of an eight-month ordeal. It is believed things came to a head when the man promised to ‘ruin’ her unless she gave him £3,500. Earlier she apparently handed over a £5,000 BMW when he said he would use the false information to ‘end her career’.

Those closest to her say the news upset Alison.

“She couldn’t believe someone would do something like that to her,” said a source familiar with the situation.

‘Then you get all kinds of trust problems.’

And with good reason. Over the past four years, Alison – who shot to fame on Big Brother in 2002 – has gone from This Morning showbusiness correspondent, playing second fiddle to presenters Holly Willoughby and Fern Britton for 18 years, to the most in-demand woman. on television.

When editor Martin Frizell was looking for a new presenter, Alison was the obvious choice. Alison and Dermot O’Leary replaced Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes as presenters of the Friday programme, as well as Holly and Phil Schofield’s holiday cover.

She was quickly revered by viewers – and other channels – and is now about to start filming her second series of Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off after the rival channel poached her.

And this week saw her replace her late and beloved Paul O’Grady in ITV’s For The Love Of Dogs.

Last week it was revealed that the BBC also managed to get a piece of her after signing her up for a new series, Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend, in which she spends 48 hours with a celebrity.

Her rising fame enabled her to buy her dream home in Solihull, West Midlands, last month after selling the £700,000 house she previously lived in.

The Brummie star shared a photo of her expansive new garden on social media and wrote: ‘I feel very emotional knowing that without all your support and love I wouldn’t be looking at this view.

‘This is my new garden that I drew as a child, but which I never dreamed would become reality. Thank you.’

Alison can do no wrong to her army of fans as her popularity continues to rise and her life is ‘coming together’, friends say.

That’s why they ‘really, really’ hope that she doesn’t get carried away by the handsome David.

“She’s clearly very happy with David,” her friend says. “There were a number of years where she really struggled as a single mother, and that makes it an even greater achievement.

“To see something derailed would be absolutely heartbreaking. Alison is adored by so many of her friends, we all hope David loves her as much as we all do.”