Denise Welch: Loose Women star reveals what was WRONG with show 'It's not about that'

The 60-year-old actress, who was a regular on the Loose Women panel from 2005 until her departure in 2013, recently returned to the series after several years away. “It was daunting for sure,” Denise Welch told Express.co.uk of going back to the show. “Myself and Carol [McGiffin], we thought it was behind us. There were many reasons for which I left and the time was right for me to leave and I just think that the show has got back to where it was,” she continued. 

“I think the current producer has got the balance completely right of women — and occasionally of men,” the former Coronation Street star revealed.

“I felt that, after I left, it became too newsy and too serious.

“Loose Women’s not about that,” she insisted. “It’s about hitting hard topics with experience from women who have usually been through them, or at least some of them have.

“So, it’s not just opinion-led but anecdotally-led, but also then it comes with a laugh.

“Like when I was stood in front of them doing a medley of my hit, as they call it,” she recalled. “I just thought, ah, this is how Loose Women should be and now the time is right for me to come back.”

Denise explained she is only able to do around one show every fortnight due to her busy schedule touring the country with Calendar Girls The Musical.

“When I finish the tour in April then I’ll be able to do some more, which is great,” she said.

“I’ve been welcomed back with open arms.”

The mother-of-two also remembered some of the funnier and more bizarre moments from her years on Loose Women, including flashing her boobs at Russell Brand because he said no one on the show had done anything “loose”.

One tense incident occurred when Bee Gees legend Robin Gibbmistakenly thought the studio audience were laughing at him, when in fact they were giggling at Denise dancing along to Night Fever.

The popstar ended up shouting: “You can all f**k off” from backstage and storming out, a dramatic exit which Denise admitted she inadvertently caused.

Meanwhile, the actress is also an ambassador for LighterLife, having lost two stone and maintained her slimmed-down figure for five years.

“We all know how to diet, we all know that if you don’t eat that much, you lose weight,” she explained. “But then you put it back on again, because you haven’t learned how to change the crooked thinking.

“This is what LighterLife do and that’s why my life changed. I realised I had a [food] addiction and I changed my mindset.

“LighterLife helped me lose two stone and helped maintain it, but what they did was they also increased my self-esteem and the love of my body because of the cognitive behavioural therapy tools,” she said, adding: “It’s much more than just a diet, it’s a lifestyle change.”

Denise Welch lost 2 stone in 2 months following the LighterLife Total Plan, and has been maintaining her weight with the LighterLife FlexiFasting Plan. Visit www.lighterlife.com for more information.

Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV.

source: express.co.uk