Former Loose Women star Carol McGiffin has playfully criticised Richard Madeley over his habits at his holiday home in the south of France, where she lives full-time with her husband.
Discussing her famous neighbour on the Suddenly Single podcast with Best Magazine's Siobhan Wykes, Carol said people often compare Richard to Alan Partridge, but she finds him entertaining. She recalled approaching him during one of his visits: "Hey Richard" and his response, "Oh, hi, how long are you down for?" Carol replied, "Yeah I live here, I told you that about a thousand times."
A Swipe at His Sunbathing and Wardrobe
Siobhan noted that she had seen Richard sitting and reading the papers at his holiday home, prompting Carol to quip: "He sits there sunning himself like he's not brown enough."
Siobhan began describing how Richard "just sits out on the pavement with his newspaper and his coffee," but Carol interjected: "In the same T-shirt everyday, not that I notice things like that."
Despite the teasing, Carol insisted she likes the Good Morning Britain presenter, adding: "He's really nice, but I don't know what the point of having a house down there and not going to it is." She noted that Richard's daughter Chloe "goes there quite a lot."
Richard and Judy's French Villa
Richard and his wife Judy Finnigan are thought to have bought a villa in the south of France in 2004 and typically visit during the summer months. Last year, the 70-year-old suffered a double wrist fracture after a fall in France, as he explained on Good Morning Britain: "It's a double fracture of the wrist. I was walking quite quickly down a steep pavement in France on Friday, and the pavement was loose. It flipped up, and it flipped me forward."
Carol moved to her home overseas in 2015 after recovering from breast cancer. She continued commuting to London for Loose Women before leaving the ITV show in 2023. Speaking to OK! Magazine, she said: "I used to love flying back to London to do Loose Women, but travel got more difficult and Loose Women got more difficult… I don't miss it at all."
She added: "It was once a great job. It doesn't really have many alternative opinions now. And I do watch it occasionally to remind myself that I made the right decision. I don't regret leaving - I don't fit in there any more. Someone, somewhere will be offended by absolutely everything."
