Denise Welch has announced she is leaving Loose Women after 25 years. The Waterloo Road star, 68, is leaving the ITV programme to focus on her acting career. Taking to Instagram, she said: "I am leaving Loose Women after the best part of 25 years off and on. I did leave for about seven years and went back in 2018, and this show has been part of mine and my family's life for almost a quarter of a century. I have the most wonderful, wonderful memories."
She explained: "It's just that acting has always been my first love, and I think the thing I'm best at. And at the moment, I'm having the most wonderful opportunities coming my way, and I'm grabbing them by the you know what's and running with it for this new chapter of my life." Denise, who first appeared on Loose Women as a guest panellist in 2002 before becoming a permanent fixture on the show in 2005, is one of several stars to have left the programme over the years.
Other Stars Who Departed
Carol McGiffin enjoyed two stints on Loose Women, first from 2000 until 2013 and again from 2018 until she permanently left the show in 2023. She stepped down from the chat show because she was "unhappy" with her contract. During an interview on the Heretics podcast in 2025, Carol claimed she was "forced out" and branded ITV "woke", admitting she felt repeatedly censored by the broadcaster.
Nadia Sawalha, one of the original panelists on Loose Women, appeared on the show from 1999 until 2002 before returning in 2013. However, the former EastEnders actress revealed she was temporarily removed from the show due to her support of Palestine. While it is unknown whether she will return, the TV personality has threatened to take legal action against ITV for being removed. Hitting back at the corporation, she urged fans to sign a petition in a bid to stop people "being bullied out of their job" for "speaking out against brutal oppression". She fumed: "My legal team at ELSC have today written to ITV alleging that I have been treated unlawfully due to my protected beliefs. Now before I say anything else, I just want to say how sad I am that it's got to this."
More Departures and Reasons
Saira Khan decided to leave Loose Women in 2020 after five years as a panelist. In 2024, she told Women's Own that there were certain things she wasn't comfortable with, which ultimately led to her departure. Following news of Nadia's current break, Saira opened up about her own departure once again, revealing she realised she was being treated "unfairly". She said: "When you're new, it's really hard because it's such a clique. You've got to prove yourself. But I aligned myself to Coleen and Ruth pretty quickly because I could relate to them. It was a hard decision to leave because I'd done it for a long time. No matter what you give to the media, you don't get the thanks back, there's no loyalty and you can be dropped. I saw people giving less but getting more. My kids said, 'You're not being treated fair, mum.'"
Following a 13-year stint, Andrea McLean announced she had quit Loose Women in 2020. Her decision was prompted after she had a nervous breakdown, leading her to reevaluate what she was doing with her life. "Last year I had a nervous breakdown," she said on the show. "What I felt is that this year, collectively, the world has had a breakdown. It made me stop and think, 'What do I actually want?' You get one life, are you living it the way that you want?" She went on: "Are you doing everything that you want to do? Are you being brave? Are you taking chances? And I realised, no." Andrea joined the show in 2007 as one of its main hosts.
