Sarah Ferguson's Loose Women career would have been a disaster for one key reason: she has never been relatable, despite discussing universal struggles like mental health and breast cancer.
Prior to her dramatic fall from grace, Sarah Ferguson looked set to embark on a new career as an ITV Loose Women panellist. In October last year, it was reported she had been cut from ITV's This Morning and Loose Women following her involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Before that, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's ex-wife had become quite the regular on ITV daytime. After several guest appearances, it even looked as though she was being lined up as a permanent fixture on the female-led afternoon panel show.
The original point of Loose Women
The original point of Loose Women was to have relatable, albeit famous, women discussing the issues of the day and topics close to viewers' hearts. One thing the artist formerly known as the Duchess of York has never been is relatable.
Sure, she discussed some mainstream topics during her appearances. When she joined the panel in April 2023, she spoke about mental health and eating disorders. But she also managed to squeeze in a chat about her Mills & Boon books and her relationship with the then Prince Andrew. Call me cynical (and many have), but I'm pretty sure most viewers can't relate to writing romance novels or marrying into royalty.
Her second appearance and the Queen's final words
Her second appearance, that November, was no different. She returned to launch the show's Don't Skip Your Screening breast cancer awareness campaign following her own mastectomy. I have nothing but respect for any woman willing to open up about such a difficult subject. Much of what Sarah discussed, including her fear that she might not live to see her grandchildren grow up, was entirely relatable.
But then she had to spoil it by taking a swipe at the media scrutiny she faced in the 1980s, recalling how the press cruelly contrasted her clothing and weight with Princess Diana's appearance, branding her “Fat, frumpy Fergie”. Just in case we forgot she was once a member of the Royal Family.
In other appearances, she discussed her relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth II, including during a conversation about self-esteem. Sarah revealed that the Queen's final words to her were a reminder to stop trying so hard to fit in and simply be herself.
“Just before the late Queen died she said to me, 'Sarah, just be yourself and that is good enough.' That was her gift to me,” she said, in possibly the most unrelatable moment ever.
Not your usual teenage waitressing gig
The reality is that, while Sarah may have experienced some universal struggles, she has never been particularly relatable. She has spoken about having ordinary jobs before marrying into the Royal Family, but even those came with a twist. Like many teenagers, she worked as a waitress. However, she wasn't carrying pints across a Wetherspoons or serving fry-ups in a greasy spoon. She worked in a strudel house in a Swiss ski resort, where she was also managing a ski chalet. Not your usual teenage waitressing gig, I think we can all agree.
In 2021, former Loose Women panellist Sinitta told Express.co.uk that she had been let go from the show for being unrelatable. "I used to love being a panellist. For some reason, they thought I was not relatable in the end, yet I think I have a lot in common with a lot of women - older, younger and my age...." she said.
I'd hazard a guess that more people can relate to a woman brought up by a single mother who has faced financial hardship and relationship difficulties, and even lived in her car as an adult, than to someone who has repeatedly been bailed out by wealthy friends. Yet, for some reason, ITV bosses apparently thought Fergie was a good fit, while the other panellists seemed ridiculously keen to fawn over her.
It is unlikely Sarah will ever be considered rehabilitated enough by the public to return to mainstream television. But should that day ever come, could TV bosses please ensure they don't try to sell her as "relatable"? Because it just doesn't fly.
