'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 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.’

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

‘All she has ever wanted’ is to settle down, says a 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 in love with single dad and security guard Jamie Savage, whom 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 last 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 Holly and Phil Schofield’s holiday cover.

She was quickly revered by the 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 network poached her.

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

Last week it was announced 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 where she previously lived.

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 to her army of fans as her popularity continues to rise and her life has started to ‘come together’, say friends.

Which is why they ‘really, really hope’ she doesn’t get swept away with 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.’