'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 up to him, Alison Hammond finally revealed her new boyfriend: hunky 6ft 10in Russian masseur, model and dancer David Putman, who is thought to be 20 years her junior.

A picture of the TV star posing next to her new beau mysteriously appeared on Instagram on Monday before being removed within minutes. Her team claim her account had been hacked.

Whatever the truth, the This Morning presenter’s fans got a glimpse of her in a black and grey New York Yankees baseball cap and puffer jacket. David, dressed in a smart brown jacket, proudly had his arm around her.

In glasses and a brown hat, Putman appears to be somewhat geeky - but he’s anything but shy. Pictures unearthed online show him posing near-naked in Armani boxers, as well as in other risque poses.

Despite enjoying the most meteoric of rises in recent years, friends say that all Alison wants is ‘to be loved’.

So they can perhaps be forgiven for looking out for her when it comes to a new man. One friend of the 49-year-old pointed out that David is closer in age to her 18-year-old son Aidan than to her.

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

‘Who’s having the most jiggy jigs?’ asked host Christine Lampard, to which Alison wasted no time in answering: ‘Well, I am.’

For the hugely popular television presenter, it was almost certainly a smug brag. She has been open about looking for The One for some time.

But friends are hoping she doesn't get too carried away too soon with David, who they describe as ‘quirky’ and ‘edgy’.

He was born in southern Russia and appears proud of his roots, posing in national dress while competing in youth choirs and military garb, including black boots and a bearskin hat.

He studied as a 'body therapist' in the Black Sea city of Sochi, with his services for ‘classic, lymphatic drainage, anti-cellulite, wraps, [and] facial massage’ still advertised on a Russian website.

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

One friend says: ‘On the television Alison is bubbly, she has this larger than life persona, but behind all of that she is a single mum who gets lonely at times.

‘She has wanted to settle down for many years now and she has had several boyfriends but none of them have worked out. Some have been a little questionable. You could say she is fairly vulnerable when looking for love.

‘Those who are close to her fear that she will be taken advantage of. She has so much to give, she is now rich and pretty famous and that is a worry for her friends.

‘Obviously alarm bells go off when there is a 20-year age gap... and there is someone involved who is rich. It is surely natural that there would be some concern.’

You can’t blame Alison’s friends following a series of heartbreaks for the star.

‘All she has ever wanted’ is to settle down, says one pal.

Alison is said to be ‘deeply sad’ that she didn’t make her relationship work with her son’s father, Noureddine Boufaied, a taxi driver based in Manchester.

The pair split in 2014 and she then fell for single dad and security guard Jamie Savage, who she met on social media. But the relationship fizzled out after three years.

Last year it emerged Alison was at the centre 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 thought to have come to a head when the man vowed to ‘ruin’ her unless she gave him £3,500. Earlier, she apparently handed over a £5,000 BMW when he said he’d use the bogus information to ‘end her career’.

Those closest to her say the news floored Alison.

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

‘You would have all kinds of trust issues after that.’

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

When editor Martin Frizell sought to find 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 providing Holly and Phil Schofield’s holiday cover.

She was quickly embraced by viewers - and other channels - and is now about to start filming her second series of The Great British Bake Off for Channel 4 after the rival network poached her.

And this week saw her take the place of late and much-loved Paul O’Grady on ITV’s For The Love Of Dogs.

It was announced last week that the BBC have also managed to get a piece of her after they signed her up for a new series, Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend, which will see her spend 48 hours with a celebrity.

Her rising stardom enabled her to buy her dream home in Solihull, West Midlands, last month after selling the £700,000 house she had been living in. 

Sharing a picture of her sprawling new garden on social media, the Brummie star wrote: ‘Feeling very emotional knowing that without all your support and love I wouldn’t be looking at this view.

‘This is my new garden I would draw as a child but never dreamed it would be a reality. Thank you.’

Alison can do no wrong as far as her army of fans are concerned. Her popularity continues to rise and her life has started to ‘come together’, say friends.

Which is why they ‘really, really hope’ she takes her time getting to know hunky David.

‘She is obviously very happy with David,’ says her friend. ‘There were some years when she really struggled as a single mum and that makes where she has got to even more of an achievement.

‘To see anything derail that would be absolutely heartbreaking. Alison is adored by so many of her friends, we all just hope that David loves her as much as we all do.’