Tearful Andrea quits Loose Women on air
LOOSE Women host Andrea McLean wiped away her tears as she announced she was leaving the show.
Andrea, 51, who had a nervous breakdown last year, said the pandemic made her question whether “I want my life to go back to the normal that it was before”.
The mother of two, who has presented ITV’s daytime chat show for 13 years, added that she felt this year “collectively the world has had a breakdown”.
She said: “The experience that I had has meant that this year... I have actually been mentally really strong to deal with everything that the pandemic threw at all of us. But it made me stop and think, ‘ What do I actually want?’ You get one life, are you living it the way that you want?
“And are you doing everything that you want to do? Are you being brave? Are you taking chances? And I realised, no.”
She spoke of the move with fellow panellists Linda Robson, 62, Brenda Edwards, 51, and Saira Khan, 50. She said: “It was a really, really big decision to jump and see if I fall or if I fly. And I just thought, ‘ I will never know unless I try’, so I am saying goodbye to Loose Women.”
Andrea, who will leave the show before Christmas, is the author of three books, including Confessions Of A Menopausal Woman. She is as co- founder of female empowerment site This Girl Is On Fire, which is also the title of her latest publication.
While promoting her book, she told how she suffered the breakdown while filming Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2019.
She said: “Some really traumatic things that have happened to me in my life... I had put them in a box.
“When I did [ Celebrity] SAS the box opened and I couldn’t get everything back in again.”
Show editor Sally Shelford said: “We are very sad to say goodbye, but [ Andrea] will always be part of the Loose family and we wish her all the best for her exciting new chapter.”