Loose Women panellist Katie Piper has expressed her upset over Denise Welch's shock exit from the ITV show. The former Coronation Street star, 68, announced this week she was leaving the daytime programme after 25 years on the panel to focus on her 'true love' of acting, leaving fans stunned.
Co-stars react to Denise's departure
Many of Denise's co-stars said they were 'heartbroken' to see her go, with show host Kaye Adams saying she would miss her greatly. However, this prompted a fuming retort from Nadia Sawalha's sister, who asked the Scot why she didn't respond when Nadia also left the programme, after the EastEnders actress claimed ITV 'forced her out' over her pro-Palestine comments.
As the fallout over Denise's departure rumbles on, her co-star Katie Piper has spoken to the Mirror about how she really feels about the actress's bombshell news.
Katie hopes Denise will return
Admitting she was shocked by Denise's announcement, Katie said: "Oh my God, I know! She said she's left before and then come back again. Hopefully she does come back again! But sometimes people leave to go and do other projects. And they might come back as a guest and tell us about what they've been up to."
Insisting she would stay pals with Denise, who will remain in her WhatsApp contacts, Katie continued: "I love Denise. She's a great girl, and everything you see is exactly what she's like behind-the-scenes. She's such a good laugh, you come into a planning meeting in the morning with her, and you'll be cracking up in like the first five minutes. She's so funny. I'll stay friends with her. You know, I've got her on WhatsApp. Yeah. I'll see her at events and stay in touch for sure."
Tributes and a row over Nadia
Denise's exit has caused quite a stir among the panellists. After announcing she was heading off for pastures new in an Instagram post on Thursday, she was flooded with well wishes from her co-stars. Fan favourite Judi Love wrote: "I'm going to miss you but I'm beyond excited to see your new chapter because baby girl it's here and we are loving it." Also paying tribute was Denise's new daughter-in-law, Gabriette, who responded to the star's post with a heart.
Also saying how much she would miss Denise was show host Kaye Adams, who posted a glowing tribute. However, Kaye was blasted by Nadia Sawalha's sister, who asked the Scot why she didn't acknowledge the EastEnders star's exit after claiming ITV ousted her from the show for her political opinions. Pointing out that Nadia defended Kaye after she was accused of bullying colleagues at BBC Scotland, she fumed: "So your Instagram does work! After all of Nadia's support for you during your bullying allegations - you couldn't even LIKE her Daily Mail apology post, which is about as controversial as it gets. Wow, wow, wow!"
