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The Loose Women star has said that Alison took to her new presenting role like ‘a duck to water’ after she replaced Matt Lucas on the Channel 4 show

Judi Love has sung the praises of Alison Hammond following her debut co-presenting The Great British Bake Off. Alison took to screens alongside Noel Fielding as a new bunch of budding bakers took on a set of challenges.

The second episode of the new series is set to hit Channel 4 tomorrow (Tuesday, October 3) as the contestants battle it out over biscuits. They will each attempt to win the converted role of Star Baker – and maybe even a handshake from Paul Hollywood himself.

And one person who will be tuning in is Bake Off fan and Loose Women star, Judi Love. The 42-year-old is friends with Alison, and has praised her performance so far on the show.

She said that the This Morning presenter has taken to it “like a duck to water.” In her OK! column, Judi wrote: “It was a joy to see Alison Hammond taking to her new presenting position like a duck to water – she looked as though she was having the time of her life!”

Judi Love has praised Alison Hammond over her GBBO debut

Alison previously said that she got the ‘VIP treatment’ from Paul Hollywood when she stepped into the famous Bake Off tent for the first time. She made the claims during an appearance on BBC’s The One Show on Friday, September 29.

She explained to presenters Alex Jones and Roman Kemp: “So on the first day he asked ‘Do you want a lift to the hotel?’ so I said ‘Yeah, great’ and he’s got a really nice car – a little bit of a Lamborghini – and I’ve never been in one of them before.”

Noel said: “It was like Batman’s car wasn’t it?” Laughing, Alison continued: “It was like Batman’s car. I mean it was a struggle for me to get in first of all. I had to get myself into the car first, it’s like it’s on the floor. So unlady-like, my legs were wide open.

“I finally got in and I said ‘Where shall I put my bag? I’ve got my bag with me’ and he just got someone else to take it. So I got into the car, let’s just say I’m never going to do it again, it was the most frightening ride I’ve ever had in my entire life. It was so scary.”

Alison took over the presenting role from Little Britain star Matt Lucas after he quit over work conflicts. He previously shared on X, formerly Twitter: “Farewell Bake Off! It’s been a delicious experience and I can’t imagine a more fun way of spending my summers. But it’s become clear to me that I can’t present both Fantasy Football League and Bake Off alongside all my other projects. So, after three series and 51 episodes, I am cheerfully passing the baguette on to someone else.

“I would like to give my warmest thanks and gratitude to everyone at Love Productions and Channel 4 and to Noelipops, Paul, Dame Prue, the crew and, of course, the wonderful bakers for welcoming me into the tent. I wish whoever takes over the very best and I can’t wait to tune into the next series without already knowing who won!”

Ruth Langsford has shared her concerns she’s already showing dementia symptoms, after the Loose Women presenter lost her beloved father Dennis to the cruel disease over ten years ago

Ruth Langsford has revealed she’s worried about developing dementia, after losing her beloved father to the disease over ten years ago.

The Loose Women star’s dad Dennis passed away in 2012 at the age of 84, having first shown symptoms of Alzheimer’s’ in the 1990s. In his final years, the former army sergeant was cared for at home by his wife and Ruth’s mother, Joan. The TV star’s mum later developed dementia herself, and, now 91, is living in a care home.

In a recent interview on the How To Be 60 podcast, Ruth confessed that she too frets she’ll inherit the illness one day. The 61-year-old’s fear of dementia, which can be genetic, is so intense that she has even admitted she’s refused to do a test to see her chances of developing it.

Ruth Langsford has admitted she’s afraid of getting dementia ( 
Image:
Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Ruth and her mum Joan, who is in an assisted living home ( 
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Instagram)
“Whenever they say that you can do a test to see if you would be prone to getting Alzheimer’s, I don’t really want to do it, because there’s no cure at the moment,” she told host Kaye Adams. “If I could do that test and they said: ‘right, now you know, this is what you do to stop you getting it. You have to take this tablet, you have to do these exercises, you have to eat this or don’t eat that.’ But there’s nobody can tell you that, so I almost don’t want to know.

Ruth, who shares son Jack with husband and former co-presenter, Eamonn Holmes, went on to admit that she’s often concerned she may be already showing symptoms of dementia.

“But of course, every time I go: ‘where are my glasses?’ and they’re on my head, or: ‘where are my keys? and I have those blank moments where you suddenly forget someone’s name – somebody you know really well. You think: ‘oh my God,’ so of course I worry, with both parents. But I try not to think about it too much, because it’s too depressing.”

Ruth also recalled losing her sister to suicide and spoke about her painful experience of losing a parent to the disease back in 2013, calling the ordeal “horrible” and “strange.” “You’re grieving for them while they’re still alive. They are physically there but their spirit appears not to be. It’s like you’ve lost them… but there they are,” she wrote, referring to her father’s “long and slow” decline.

“Eventually we had to put him into care. It broke my heart. But sometimes it is not possible to keep a sufferer at home. Me and my sister had to persuade my mum to let him go into care, because being at home was making them both ill,” she admitted.

Loose Women star Carol McGiffin has been slammed by fans after her comments on British Airways’ new uniform changes which allow male pilots and flight attendants to wear makeup and carry handbags

Carol McGiffin, the former Loose Women star, has faced criticism from fans following her remarks on British Airways’ decision to provide a non-binary uniform option for its employees.

The 63-year-old shared her views on Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster’s GB News show, discussing the airline’s new uniform policy. British Airways has eased its uniform regulations, offering a gender-neutral choice and permitting male pilots and flight attendants to wear makeup and carry handbags.

McGiffin criticised the decision on GB News, stating she didn’t want to see ‘a bloke wearing a skirt’. She elaborated: “Personally I want to see someone walking up and down the aisles looking professional, like a woman, I’m not saying she has to wear a skirt, but I don’t want to see a bloke walking up and down wearing a skirt.”

McGiffin criticised the decision on GB News ( 
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GBN)
She further added: “I don’t know why but I am old-fashioned like that. I want to see air stewards and stewardesses looking very, very professional. These are the people you rely on when you are flying and for me, it is not a good idea.” She also claimed that the changes ‘hadn’t gone down well with the crew either’, except with those who identified as non-binary.

She concluded: “People are saying that what they should have done is designed a uniform for the men, a uniform for the women, and a uniform for the non-binary people who want to be whatever they want, but where does it end? Where does it end? How many uniforms do you need?”

Carol’s remarks sparked a wave of online backlash, with many fans expressing their disapproval. One individual commented: “Oh Carol…put all that hateful energy into something more productive,”

Another critic added: “Carol McGiffin is a hateful, old grifter. She knows the only way she can make money is to sink to the level of GB News and pick on marginalised people. Pure scum of the Earth!” A third person chimed in with: “Why are people so triggered by how people want to identify!? Live and let live! No-one wants to see Carol McGiffin spouting utter nonsense again but here we are.”

This controversy follows Carol’s departure from Loose Women, which she attributed to the show becoming ‘too woke’. She revealed that she had been asked to sign a contract that was “totally unjust and unworkable for me”.

In a conversation with Dan Wootton, she stated: “Well put it this way, reading all the comments from the article at the weekend there are a lot of people who think the programme has gone very, very woke.”

Carol then confessed: “Well, neither do I. The whole of mainstream media is very, very woke.”

“You just don’t have to keep forcing this stuff down peoples’ throats, it’s not just ITV, the BBC is probably worse actually and saying that, Channel 4 is probably the worst out of all of them. It’s not a place where I feel I fit in,” she concluded.

“And, even though, you should be having the debates and seeing a difference in opinion, in the typical woke ideals, you don’t really get it anymore, you’re not allowed to say it and if you do, you either get censored or you get cancelled as many people have learnt to their cost.”

The 58-year old made the admission on Monday as she joined fellow panelists Ruth Langsford, Brenda Edwards and Sally Dynevor in a discussion about first impressions

Coleen Nolan has made the stark confession that she has “never liked” one of her Loose Women co-stars and “still doesn’t”. The 58-year old made the admission to fellow panelists Ruth Langsford, Brenda Edwards and Sally Dynevor during Monday’s edition of the ITV daytime show.

Following the triumphant return of Big Brother after a five-year wait the night before, the ladies discussed the impact of first impressions and how people are judged based on those impressions. Head panelist Ruth admitted that people inadvertently judge others on the first time they meet them.

The 63-year old explained: “It’s natural human instinct to make a first impression. It just is – even if you try not to. Naturally, the minute you meet someone – whether it’s about their eye contact, their smile, whether they ask something about yourself. Whatever that interaction is, we will make a first impression.”After Sally revealed she felt “really giddy” when she joined the programme, Coleen added she feels predominantly more shy when in front of an audience. Then the mother-of-three made the hilarious quip that she believed Ruth was “stuck up”, to which Ruth responded that her pal was “too loud”.

Coleen joked: “She’s got a point,” before Ruth replied: “All of us have talked about our insecurities. When you think now, every situation that you’re in public with people that you don’t know – everyone in that same room is having the same feelings. You think you’re the only one, but you’re not – so it is interesting.”

Coleen quipped: “Never liked you, though. Still don’t,” prompting Ruth to joke: “Well we’ve got that in common.” “Touché!” added Coleen. “That’s going to be on the front of a magazine now.”

Coleen Nolan has weighed in on the BBC’s The Reckoning which documents the harrowing crimes by notorious sex offender Jimmy Savile which have resurfaced

Loose Women’s Coleen Nolan has claimed there are “many” Jimmy Saviles still about.

The television presenter and singer has spoken previously about her interactions with the vile paedophile and said she was invited back to his hotel room when she was just 14. Coleen told Piers Morgan that Savile, who died in 2011 before the vast majority of his crimes came to light said he would “look after” her.

Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women, the 58-year-old said of The Reckoning said: “I will watch it, I’m really interested in true crime, I do watch the documentaries, I have watched documentaries on Jimmy Savile. I actually think, obviously, some of the victims have given their blessing to see this air and I think the reason being is, that we should continue to watch it.

Coleen Nolan has claimed there are ‘many’ Jimmy Saviles still working ( 
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ITV)
“There are still, many, many, many Jimmy Saviles working out there and we need to be reminded, you may be watching and seeing some of how he came about to entice those women. Someone might watch it and go ‘Oh that’s what whoever down the road is doing and we need to be aware of it and keep an eye on it.’”

Despite some people disagreeing with The Reckoning being made by the BBC, the same corporation that Savile worked for, one of his victims, named Susan said: “It’s not going to stop any other predator but what it might change is to make institutions not put their heads in the sand.

“Instead, take action from the beginning and for all of us to see how grooming happens so we understand it more.” Janet Street-Porter added: “Men like Jimmy Savile operated in a circle of people who knew only too well what he was doing. So Jimmy Savile operated within a close circle, you see them in the drama, of men, who might not have liked what he was doing and didn’t stop it and gave their approval by default.

Janet Street-Porter claims grooming is still rife ( 
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ITV)
“Yes, that still goes on in the industry so when you talk about grooming, it’s not going to be one person behaving badly or inappropriately to one woman, it’s going to be a group of people involved.” Viewers tuned into the series which uncovers the true extent of his horrific crimes against teenage girls, young women, younger girls, boys, ill people, disabled people and even the dead.

Savile died in October 2011, aged 84, before he was able to be held accountable for his sickening crimes. Over the course of his life, he was confronted with several allegations of sexual abuse, the earliest being in 1958, although it was claimed at the time that there was not sufficient evidence.

Following his death, allegations dating back to 1963 were made against him and an official investigation, Operation Yewtree was launched in 2012. In October of the same year, The Met Police said they were looking into 400 enquiries and that the number of alleged victims was around 450.

He is said to have told people that he liked to have “sex with dead bodies”.

Loose Women panelists Kaye Adams, Linda Robson and Nadia Sawalha have slammed Jada and Will Smith over fooling the public for seven years amid secret separation

The Loose Women panelists have slammed Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith for duping the public into believing that they were in a solid marriage for seven years – but had, in fact, secretly separated.

Earlier this week, news emerged that the Hollywood couple had decided to silently call it quits in 2016 but kept up the pretence that their marriage was standing the test of time. And this, it seems, left the panel struggling to comprehend. So much so, presenter Kaye Adams was the first to voice her opinion as she said during Thursday afternoon’s show: “I mean they went to that Oscars thing, ‘don’t you talk about my wife like that’.”

Loose Women’s Kaye Adams slams Jada and Will ( 
Image:
ITV)But Jane Moore, who split with her husband last year after 20 years together, was quick to jump to Will and Jada’s defence as she tried to put their revelation in context.

She explained that when Jada and Will first got together, they were both known as individuals and had their own fame. But as the years crept on, Jada felt she had lost herself in the marriage and instead of being known in her own right, she became known as “Mrs Will Smith”.

But Kaye, 60, was clearly having none of it. She continued: “Its up to them what they want to do, its none of our business is it? But that kind of act of pretence is the bit that I find kind of odd for seven years, can you see how people…”

And it was at this point that Linda Robson, who has also gone through hardships in her marriage, added to the discussion. She said: “I wouldn’t be able to keep up the pretence, no. If something is not right in the relationship then I find it very hard to disguise it. And things haven’t been right in my relationship for quite a long time, I’ve been very honest about it.”

Jada Pinkett Smith revealed that she had separated from Will seven years ago ( 
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Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty I)
The discussion then quickly moved on to whether the panel would be able to disguise an argument that they previously had with their partner, if it had remained unresolved and they were out in public.

Speaking of a memorable moment she shared with her husband Mark, Nadia Sawalha explained: “Mark doesn’t drink and then sometimes I accidentally have two quick cocktails. And one particular night we went to that really nice Heston Blumenthal (restaurant). We were at a terrible table where we were right by the loo or kitchen door or something.

“So the door was slamming but I was looking at Mark and he was looking out at everybody. I was drunk, I was menopausal without any medication and I was just mad. So I berated him.”

Kaye then asked her to elaborate on what she meant by that. And so Nadia continued: “(He was saying) ‘People are listening’.”

Nadia added that she told him:”Nobody’s listening, ‘just because you don’t want me to say this, why is it that it’s never the right time to say anything to you and he’s like… ‘ honestly if you say to him Heston Blumenthal he’ll start shaking at the memory of it.”

TV presenter and Loose Women star Stacey Solomon has shared an adorable Instagram video of two year old daughter Rose singing at bedtime alongside her baby sister Belle

Loose Women star and TV presenter Stacey Solomon has shared an adorable bedtime video of daughter Rose singing a lullaby to her and little sister Belle.

Taking after her X Factor singer mum, toddler Rose begins with her rendition of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ before switching over to her own lyrics instead. Smiling at the camera as sister Belle slept on, Rose sings “Mummy loves you” over and over with Stacey joining in.

The sweet clip, which Stacey shared to her Instagram Stories and with her 5.8 million followers, was captioned: “My heart Rose. Mummy definitely does love you. So so much.”

Stacey Solomon shared an adorable clip of daughter Rose singing at bedtime ( 
Image:
Instagram/staceysolomon)

In the clip, Rose switched from singing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ to her own lyrics ( 
Image:
Instagram/staceysolomon)
Whilst sister Rose sings on, baby sister Belle slept on without being disturbed in Stacey’s arms as the trio enjoyed being cuddled up in bed together. Rose, who recently celebrated her second birthday, clearly enjoyed her singing as the video ended with fits of giggles from the toddler.

The adorable video comes after last week Stacey celebrated her 34th birthday and daughter Rose’s second birthday in a sweet way. Posting to her Instagram, Stacey posted a number of adorable pictures of her and daughter Rose – while also revealing the exciting things they got up to on their big day. One of the snaps showed the mother-and-daughter duo in matching t-shirts with big grins on their faces.

To mark the special occasion, TV presenter Stacey told her followers that she and Rose ate a cake for their breakfast and had an eventful morning playing with the toddler’s doll house before heading out to lunch.

Stacey Solomon recently celebrated her 34th birthday alongside daughter Rose, who turned 2 ( 
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Instagram)

Her post read: “34 & 2. The best gift I ever got on my birthday was you Rose. It’s a dream sharing this special day with you. Happy birthday darling girl. 2 years have bloomin’ flown by and I’m already excited for 18-50 it’ll be here before we know it no doubt! To the moon and back baby girl.

She added: “We had the best day. Rose LOVED her dolls house so so much. We played ALL morning. It was cake for breakfast. Then Rose had her taster day at nursery & the school mums & my sister took me out for lunch then we did the school pick ups together in tutus & played some more dolls house with the boys. Now it’s time for dinner and more cake with a side of nail art. Thank you for all of your lovely birthday wishes love you all xxx.

Loose Women panellist Kaye Adams has opened up about her personal life over the years, from lying about her age to her daughters to deciding not to get married to her long-term partner

Television presenter Kaye Adams has been in the public eye for over three decades, famously hosting ITV’s Loose Women, starring on Strictly Come Dancing and presenting BBC Radio Scotland. All the while, she has been in a long-term relationship with her partner Ian Campbell, though he rarely makes appearances in the spotlight.

Kaye, 60, and Ian first met when he was her tennis coach over 30 years ago, and their relationship was long-distance for a while, with Ian dividing his time between Italy and Scotland. After eight years, the couple decided to settle down in Glasgow and start a family together, though neither of them were fussed about marriage.

Kaye lied to her daughter Charly about her real age for over a decade ( 
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Daily Record)

She has never felt the desire to get married to her partner-of-30-years, Ian ( 
Image:
Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Speaking about her decision to not walk down the aisle, Kaye previously told the Mirror: “When we first met Ian was in his late 20s working as a tennis coach, spending half his life in Italy and half in Scotland, and he was not a man going to settle down. He’s an unconventional person and I didn’t have any great thoughts of settling down at that stage either. It was just a relationship that carried on and carried on, very happily, and maybe we just passed the point of getting married.”

She added: “We don’t have an anniversary but we’ve been together for about 22 years. But if Ian wants to pop the question and I get a decent ring and a good holiday out of it I wouldn’t say no.” Kaye said having daughters Charly and Bonnie was all the commitment she needed. “The huge decision for Ian and I was to have children and I guess that was our equivalent of getting married,” she said. “It was eight years before we had kids and I think, for us, that represents our commitment to each other. We would never have had children if we weren’t going to stay together and getting married isn’t something that needs to happen for our relationship.”

Kaye with her partner Ian, their two daughters and her parents on holiday ( 
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ITV)

‘Traumatic lie’

Kaye once admitted that she lied to her daughters about her age, shaving a whole decade off the real number. The presenter invented a fake date of birth, cut 10 years off and kept up the pretence for a long while before finally coming clean. She said Charly was unaware until she confessed the truth when her girl turned 12.

“It’s pathetic but I lopped off 10 years and merrily lied away, including a fake date of birth which I had off pat,” Kaye told the Mirror. “I’m generally an honest person but I’ve always been a good liar and parents lie all the time to little children. At the time I did it without thinking – it’s just a stupid habit you get into and think it’s funny. But now when I look back, I think, ‘Oh my God, you were sick.’”

Kaye, who was 40 when her daughter was born, adds: “By the time she got to around 12 I was beginning to feel uncomfortable. So I broke the truth to her in a coffee shop, which was a lot more traumatic than I thought it would be. I thought she’d think it was funny but she was genuinely disappointed in me. I’ll never forget her little face, I feel terrible, she was so shocked. She had it in her head I was the same age as her friends’ parents and suddenly I wasn’t and that rocked her.”

Kaye has even tried to hide her age from her Loose Women colleagues. She added: “They all think I’m absolutely pathetic. Nadia [Sawalha] stole my driving licence at one point. Inside I was thinking, ‘I’ve got to be a good sport about this’, but I struggled to smile.”

Kaye said the Loose Women ladies laugh about speculation of a feud between them ( 
Image:
Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Loose Women ‘feud’

In recent times, there has been rumours of a feud among the Loose Women pannelists, though Kaye brushed off the speculation in July this year. Speaking to the Mirror, she said: “I do get fed up that almost always we will be asked whether we b*tch about each other. I’m just waiting for Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker to be asked the same question because they just never are. When we are asked about feuds, we think it is funny. It is certainly not a viper’s nest.”

Kaye added: “The one thing that I can guarantee when I go to the Loose Women, regardless of the line-up of women, regardless of the topics, at some point in that day, I will have a real belly laugh. And I don’t know how many other people can say that about their working life. I’m really delighted to say, hand on heart at some point in the day, we will be creasing ourselves, which is a lovely thing.”

Sharing an insight into their close bond, Kaye said: “I did a press trip to Jamaica 20 years ago with Carol McGiffin, who was hilarious, and I have a photo of her fully clothed, swigging champagne and throwing herself backwards into a swimming pool at 2am. Yeah, that is pretty standard [with Carol]. Linda Robson and Denise Welsh are both fans of Magic Mike, and I often end up in bed naked with Nadia Sawalha after a night out.

“That’s routine for us – she’s too lazy to go home and I sleep naked… I’m not changing for anyone. So we’ve had countless nights where we’ve been worse for wear and tumbled into the same bed together. I see more of some of the presenters than others, but I love to see them all on a Loose Women night out.”

Sunday’s episode of BBC Strictly Come Dancing saw former ITV Emmerdale star Adam Thomas kicked out the competition after going up against Angela Rippon in the dance off

Loose Women star Denise Welch led the fuming viewers slamming Strictly Come Dancing’s action-packed eviction episode on Sunday.

The ITV panel programme presenter fumed after Emmerdale star Adam Thomas was given the boot following a dance-off with Angela Rippon. He was axed alongside dance partner Luba Mushtuk after the weekend’s action-packed instalments.

Angela, 79, and her dance partner Kai Widdrington performed their Waltz to Fascination by Nat King Cole while Adam and Luba performed their Rumba to Dancing On My Own by Callum Scott in a bid to impress the judges.

Denise weighed in on Sunday’s episode of Strictly ( 
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Getty Images)

Adam was axed alongside dancer partner Luba Mushtuk ( 
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PA)
Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas unanimously choose to save Angela and Kai. Clearly upset with the episode’s outcome, Denise took to X, formally Twitter, to air her thoughts on the matter.

“Adam should have won that dance off,” she wrote, joining dozens of other viewers who said ‘the wrong person was sent home’. One fan fumed: “Only caught the dance off of this week’s #Strictly and it was clearly the wrong decision?”

Another agreed, writing: “Sorry, wrong decision. Adam had a lot of potential to keep getting better, his scores have been consistently climbing. Angela is great, especially considering her age, but she has a lot of experience, and realistically she won’t get any better than she is now. #strictly.” A third fan wrote: “No hate to Angela at all, because I think she is getting too much negativity from people. But I do think Adam danced better in the dance off, Angela’s waltz was very lumpy. “Sorry but I think the judges made the wrong decision.”

However, some did go against Denise, with another commenting: “I felt that Adam hardly danced and that it was his partner who danced through it all.” And someone else remarked: “Not his dance this week sadly. Angela tipped him at the end.” A third fan agreed: “It was a close call but I think Angela did edge it. Adam’s dance was all Luba.”

As his fate was revealed, Adam said: “Seven incredible weeks, what a journey it’s been. I honestly thought I was leaving in week two and the fact that I’ve got this far I’m so proud of myself, I’ve had an amazing time from start to finish. I came here to learn how to dance and I’ve learned so much more about myself.

“The confidence and self-belief I now have in myself, it’s out of this world I have to thank all these guys up here. What a bunch to be on this journey with, I’m just very, very lucky! I know my kids are at home now probably crying, ‘It’s okay – Daddy’s okay’. I just wanted to teach my kids that it’s not just about winning or losing, it’s about taking part and doing your best. [To Luba] I just want to say thank you to this one and I’m sorry, I wanted to get us to Blackpool.”

Sort Your Life Out star Stacey Solomon returned to Loose Women on Wednesday after 10 months away from the popular panel programme on ITV

Stacey Solomon is back on ITV after 10 months away from Loose Women.

She took a break from the show after welcoming baby Belle with husband Joe Swash, her third child with the TV personality. Stacey has two more children from previous relationships. It was during her time off that fans feared she’d quit for good

A source claimed recently that Stacey had “outgrown” the show and would not be returning. However, sources confirmed to The Miror that wasn’t the case. An insider close to Stacey exclusively told The Mirror that claims she had parted ways with ITV were “categorically untrue”. A spokesperson for the show added: “These claims are not true. We are looking forward to welcoming Stacey back onto the show soon.”

And now, as the 34-year-old star prepares to make a return to Loose Women today, we take a look at what she’s been up to in her break away from the programme…

Stacey was on Loose Women on Wednesday ( 
Image:
Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Exit rumours

Stacey has made on-off appearances on the ITV daytime show since 2016, with some fans speculating she’d left the star-studded panel completely. Reports suggested Stacey wasn’t coming back to Loose Women after she had “outgrown” the popular panel programme.

An insider had told Woman’s Own magazine that the mum-of-five was wanting to ‘spend more time with her kids’. Falsely calling a “huge blow” to bosses at ITV, they said: “The panellists know Stacey is popular and good for the programme, so they would be gutted to see her go. “She’s outgrown the show. It’s no longer right for Stacey. Loose Women takes up a lot of her time. If she were to leave, it would free her time up a little, especially if she has to be away for longer periods of time with her own shows.”

It was after these reports that The Mirror clarified the claims were “categorically untrue”, with sources close to the 34-year-old confirming her Loose Women return. Last month, A spokesperson for Loose Women also told us: “These claims are not true. We are looking forward to welcoming Stacey back onto the show soon.”

Fifth baby birth

Stacey gave birth to baby Belle in February ( 
Image:
Instagram)

She shared her pregnancy journey online ( 
Image:
Instagram)
Stacey’s substantial break from Loose Women was largely down to the arrival of her now nine-month-old daughter Belle. It was all the way back in February earlier this year that Stacey announced the name of her new baby girl.

Taking to Instagram at the time, she wrote: “Belle, our little Belle. Our beautiful, delicate baby girl. Who will forever remind us of the bluebells that are about to bloom as you bring the spring with you into the world… And a little special connection to your Rose. To the moon and back Belle. Forever and always.”

Stacey and Joe welcomed daughter Rose in October 2021, and their son Rex, three, a few years before. Stacey, who also has two older sons from previous relationships, announced the birth of her Story, sharing a snap of herself taken while pregnant.

Working on other projects before Loose Women return

Stacey had already returned to work way before coming back to the Loose Women panel, only two months after giving birth she was back to work, flying to Paris for a filming job. She didn’t hesitate to get back in front of the camera, bringing baby Belle with her for the journey. “I’m taking Belle with me because I haven’t worked out the breastfeeding thing yet,” she explained on social media at the time.

She also starred in her own TV series, Sort Your Life Out. She featured in season two around the time of her pregnancy before shooting season three. Her latest series began airing in September, so filming days would have likely happened in the months running up to the broadcast date. Not only was she working on her own show, Stacey also worked on her fashion collaborations, her first happening in April.

It was revealed she’d bagged her first collaboration with Primark to create another range of kids’ clothes, ready for the spring and summer seasons. “I think this Spring Summer collection might be my favourite one EVER,” she said at the time. She also did another collaboration with the fashion brand, launching a winter range last month.

Also, in May, Stacey spearheaded another fashion campaign, this time with her friends at In The Style, launching an exclusive summer range, complete with work trips and photoshoots. So it’s safe to say Stacey was well and truly back into business mode merely weeks after welcoming baby Belle, more than six months before her Loose Women return.

Backstage feud rumours

Stacey’s Loose Women return comes amid rumours of a “huge divide” between the young Loose Women panellists and the “older, classic” stars. There’s thought to be a rift caused after the “young ones refuse to get caught up in the drama”, per Woman’s Own.

Denise Welch has previously denied feud claims, explaining: “I have never once had an argument with any single girl off stage in that show in 20 years.” While Coleen Nolan has previously hinted at tension between the original cast and the new panel members.

“I find it hard sometimes because there are a lot more Loose Women [presenters] now,” she said. “There used to be a core 10 of us. Sometimes you go on and it’s a show with a new panellist or two new panellists. It takes a long time to build up a rapport with someone, where they get your humour or sarcasm without being offended.”

‘She never left’

Stacey always insisted she never left the Loose Women line-up ( 
Image:
ITV)Stacey’s absence was mentioned after she made a surprise appearance on the panel in the last episode of 2022. At the time, Stacey insisted she was still very much part of the line-up despite long periods of no-shows.

“Again, I’m just grateful to be on there,” Stacey told Lorraine at the time. “When I was on X Factor 14 years ago… I never even thought I’d be on a show like this never mind have opportunities like Sort Your Life Out and Loose Women.

“So every time I get to do something like that I’m genuinely like ‘thank goodness, this is amazing!’. You’ve just got to keep enjoying it because you never know when it’ll be gone and when those things aren’t going to be there.” She also recently saw success with her very own TV show with the BBC. Sort Your Life Out was hugely popular with fans and was nominated at this year’s National Television Awards.