'Alarm bells go off when there's a 20-year age gap'. Why friends fear Alison ... trends now

Grinning widely as she cuddled up to her new man, Alison Hammond finally revealed her latest boyfriend: hunky 6ft 10in Russian masseur, model and dancer David Putman, who is 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 wearing a black and grey New York Yankees baseball cap and puffer jacket while David, dressed in a smart brown jacket, proudly put his arm around her.

Wearing glasses and a brown hat, Putman appears to be somewhat geeky - but, like Alison, 49, he’s anything but shy. Pictures unearthed online show him posing near-naked in Armani boxers, as well as other risque snaps.

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

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

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 popular television presenter, it was almost certainly a smug brag. For she has been looking for The One for some time.

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 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 Sochi on the Black Sea, with his services for ‘classic, lymphatic drainage, anti-cellulite, wraps, 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, whether that’s when the man or woman is younger but when there is someone involved who is rich, it is surely natural that there would be some concern.’