ITV Loose Women favourite ‘quits’ after 25 years on the show as actress tales ‘massive leap of faith’
Denise Welch is understood to have stepped away from Loose Women to dedicate herself fully to her acting career, bringing to a close a lengthy stint on the ITV daytime programme.
The former Coronation Street star is understood to have made the decision after securing roles in several new productions.
Ms Welch first appeared on the lunchtime chat show more than two decades ago and became one of its most recognisable faces.
According to reports, the panellist’s true passion has always been performing, and she now intends to channel all her professional energy into that pursuit.
Denise Welch is understood to have stepped away from Loose Women
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Ms Welch made her debut on Loose Women as a guest panellist in 2002, three years after the show first launched.
By 2005, she had established herself as a permanent fixture on the panel.
After an eight-year run, she departed the programme in 2013, only to make a comeback five years later in 2018.
Since her return, she has been a regular presence on the show, contributing to discussions alongside fellow panellists for a further eight years.
Denise Welch made her debut on Loose Women as a guest panellist in 2002
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Her association with Loose Women stretches back roughly a quarter of a century, during which time she became one of the programme’s most enduring and well-known contributors.
A source described the move to The Sun as “the end of an era.” They added: “She is taking a massive leap of faith and going to focus solely on her acting which, really, has always been her first great love.
“Now is the time to pursue her dreams, although she will be devastated to wave goodbye to her Loose friends and colleagues. She will be sorely missed.”
GB News has approached ITV, who has not yet responded to requests for comment on the reports.
Denise Welch is understood to be stepping back from Loose Women to focus on her acting career
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Ms Welch’s career before Loose Women included prominent television roles, most notably on Coronation Street. She also featured in Waterloo Road 2006 to 2010 and starred in Hollyoaks for a year.
Meanwhile, Ms Welch’s Loose Women co-star Nadia Sawalha recently threated to sue ITV over her removal from the show.
Ms Sawalha is alleging the broadcaster removed her from the panel because of her public support for Palestinian rights.
Her legal representatives have issued a pre-action letter to the network, accusing it of “subjected Nadia to direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment because of her protected philosophical beliefs”.
In an Instagram video, the presenter claimed she had been “the target of an escalating campaign of smears, complaints, hostile media coverage and targeted calls to have me removed from Loose Women.”
She stated that ITV had repeatedly taken her on and off the programme.
According to Ms Sawalha, ITV’s explanation for removing her from the show was, as she quoted the broadcaster: “It’s all a bit noisy out there for us.”
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