Loose Women legend Andrea McLean only speaks to two show stars and NEVER watches – despite 13yrs on the panel
LOOSE Women legend Andrea McLean has revealed the real reason she doesn’t watch the ITV show – despite 13 years on the panel.
The TV favourite – quit the ITV programme in 2020 to pursue other projects – admitted she doesn’t miss the daytime show because she now has the freedom to work for herself.
Andrea, who has partnered with Pedigree Relief Fund to support pet owners in having a stress-free Christmas, said despite feud rumours, she’s still good pals with her former co-stars, including Denise Welch and Brenda Edwards.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Andrea said: “I don’t watch Loose Women now because it’s on during the day and I’m always working during the day.
“But in terms of do I miss it, I work for myself now, so I do a lot of stuff working from home and anybody who has left any organisation to strike out on their own, I do miss getting up and getting in and meeting the whole team and seeing everybody and hearing the gossip. I miss that kind of daily interaction with everybody.
“But I don’t miss it in terms of the way people would think I suppose because it was great and I left because I was ready to try something else and went off in a new and exciting direction.
“I still follow everyone on Instagram and I still meet up with them every now and again, everyone is so busy, when Denise [Welch] is in the country when she’s not jetting off around the world, or when Brenda [Edwards] is not on stage belting out a tune.”
The former weather reporter admitted she left the Loose Women WhatsApp group shortly after she left the show.
She told us: “I left the WhatsApp group purely because everyone was talking about work stuff and it was really weird for me because I didn’t need to know that stuff anymore. We still chat on WhatsApp but I’m just not in the group.”
Hitting back at rumours of a feud, Andrea said: “If men were doing the same thing we wouldn’t be having that discussion and sadly it’s going to continue. We’re all strong women giving our opinion, it’s powerful, it’s great.”
Andrea also opened up about a recent battle with an illness which left her bed bound and forced to cancel all work for six months.
In February of this year, the ex ITV show anchor took to her Instagram page to post a selfie with her husband after admitting her “absolute exhaustion”.
The star has now revealed that she was diagnosed with “long-Covid” and admitted she is never fully out of the woods.
She told us: “It’s long-Covid, it was diagnosed with something called vasculitis in 2017, and that’s an autoimmune disease which affects your blood vessels. It’s in the same family as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
“I was being tested for lupus because I had all the symptoms of lupus.
“It was horrible, it really wasn’t a great time. I was poorly for on and off for 18 months but I was really poorly for six months where I couldn’t work at all.
“It was really tough, but at least the results came back and yes there was inflammation but now it’s just about rest and recuperation and to build yourself back up again.”
She added: “I’m feel brilliant, I feel really invigorated, that’s why I get so annoyed when I get a cold.
“I don’t ever treat it like it’s finished because there is still so much research to be done into long-Covid, I think I have to accept now that it will always be a little gremlin that’s there, so for me if I start to feel myself getting rundown or all the other symptoms start to show themselves, is to take a step back.
“That’s why if something is stressful, I try to find another way because so much of that makes you tired and exhausted.”
Andrea has now launched a podcast called This Girl Is On Fire, with her husband and businessman Nick Feeney.
She said: “I treat it in the same way that I did when I was doing Loose, I want to talk about things that people are talking about but this time with a male perspective.
“We talk about things in a really raw way, it’s quite sweary, it’s quite real, we talk about the challenges we go through as a blended family. We’ve been married five times, three divorces, four kids, two dogs. So I kind of get my fix.”
Andrea is supporting the Pedigree Relief Fund, which has been created by Pedigree in partnership with Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to support pet owners in having a stress-free Christmas and ensure rescue shelters don’t get overwhelmed.
New research reveals it’s our pets who are keeping us truly merry, as 84 per cent of cat and dog owners say their pet plays a big part of their festive celebrations.
However, with 4 in 10 pet owners experiencing worries about their pets in the run up to Christmas, as part of the Pedigree Relief Fund, TV Presenter Andrea and Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Behaviourist, Rob Bays, share some advice for pet owners.
Some of the most stressful situations for pet owners over the festive period include guests giving their pet food they are not allowed to have their pet accidentally consuming food poisonous to them and eating wrapping paper.
In new research conducted by Pedigree, pet owners also admitted our pawed pals inject some mischief to the festive fun by either knocking baubles off the tree or taking the tree down completely, while some owners also claim their cheeky pets jump up to the table to scrap the leftover Christmas dinner or scratch open the presents before the kids even get a chance to open them.
Andrea said: “There’s so much for people to think about at Christmas in general but when you’re a pet owner, I know first-hand that it adds a whole other layer of stress.
“Pets are a big part of the family but it can be difficult to make sure that they are included in the festive fun without everything becoming too much for them.
“Since we adopted Teddy from Battersea four years ago and have helped foster numerous dogs from them, they’ve always been brilliant in supporting us with any problems we have and I hope the Pedigree Relief Fund helps to ensure more pet owners get to have a stress-free Christmas with their furry loved ones.”