Former Loose Women host Andrea McLean appeared to be in her element as she greeted celebrity pals and industry executives at the launch of her latest book Shameless. But behind the broad smiles, it looks as though the rumoured feud between the TV star, 56, and a few of the original panellists, may still be brewing in the background if their absence is anything to go by.
Andrea's former ITV co-stars including Denise Welch and Nadia Sawalha failed to attend her book launch. Though comedian Jenny Éclair and panellist Jane Moore did show up for her.
It comes after Denise was accused of being a 'hypocrite' after agreeing to write a review of Andrea's book while being less than friendly with her during her time on the show, according to celebrity agent Melanie Blake.
Melanie accused some of Andrea's former co-stars of ridiculing her by referring to her as 'Andrea Bland-rea', among themselves during her time hosting the ITV show.
Taking to X, Melanie said: 'Huge plug Denise Welch has given for Andrea's new book.'
She added: 'Quite a surprise tho as Denise, Nadia & most of the OG cast referred to her as 'BLANDREA' behind her back at #LooseWomen for decades – 'as was so boring.'
She continued: 'But suddenly her life & career's a mess & she's 'unputdownable'. And btw, 15 years of mobile phones and emails saved should save the bother of any dispute on my musing – everyone at ITV knows that's true (possibly not Andrea since she's got her on her back cover).'
Andrea McLean's Career and Financial Struggles
Andrea hosted the daytime talk show between 2007 and 2020. After making the decision to quit the show, Andrea launched a company with her husband Nick Feeney and invested all her savings into it, in a bid to make it a roaring success.
However, unfortunately, Andrea and her husband were unable to make it work and the former TV presenter lost everything, to the point where her bank account was showing minus figures.
The company was a life-advice blog writing posts aimed at women and was also a shopping website, selling 'female-focused' products from female owned businesses.
But when Covid-19 collapsed the entire world, the couple decided to focus on lifestyle instead and launched an app where subscribers would pay a fee of £19.99 to have access to confidence building, how to focus on a good night's sleep and methods of how to become a calm parent.
The masterclass was held by experts and Andrea herself. The blog had amassed hundreds and thousands of readers and due to its success, the couple turned down the opportunity of investment. Recalling that time in her life, she said: 'I thought 'No one is going to believe in this as passionately as we do'.' So instead they re-mortgaged their house and took out loans.
And so on the back of the collapse of her business she found herself immersed in a huge amount of debt. In a recent interview, she explained: 'I didn't actually add [the debt] up in total. But it was a lot. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds.'
And when asked if she constantly checked her bank balance to monitor her situation, she told the Daily Mail: 'Because it was less than £2.60. It was minus. And I can't remember an exact moment, because it just went on and on and on.'
Recovery and Moving Forward
Last year, Andrea managed to clear her debts by selling her home, cashing out her pension according to the publication, and she reportedly sold all her clothes and furniture. In addition, she heartbreakingly sold her engagement rings she hoped would be left to her children in her will.
The book launch marked a new chapter for Andrea, but the absence of some former colleagues suggests unresolved tensions remain.
