McLean: I felt a fraud
Loose Women’s
Andrea McLean has revealed a secret battle with imposter syndrome – and admits it was once so bad, the only way she could make it through the show was to pretend she was co-star
Kaye Adams.
The normally vocal host added that her anxiety is even worse when it comes to going out, as she’d rather spend parties hiding in the corner.
Lockdown may have given the mum-of-two, 50, a bit of a reprieve but the Celebrity SAS star is now sharing her fears to help others, two months after revealing she had a breakdown last year.
Andrea says: “Nick, my husband, can walk up to anybody and leave as their best friend. I can’t get over the nerves. I grab the first drink I’m offered just to have something to hold, I stand against a wall and I end up talking to the waitress. To walk in normally and just talk to everybody? I can’t do it.
“Even thinking about it brings me out in hives,” she told TV host and pop culture expert Nick Ede’s ImPODster Syndrome podcast. She felt the full effect of the condition, which makes you feel like a fraud, during her early Loose Women days.
Andrea admitted: “I’d think ‘What would Kaye Adams say?’ That was the first time I’d massively felt imposter syndrome. I had to tell myself my bosses wouldn’t have offered me the job if I couldn’t do it.”
She added to the podcast, out on all formats on Thursday: “I would love to swap personalities for a day. I’d be interested to see what it’s like to be the one dancing on the table shouting ‘More tequila!’.”
Trust me, Andrea, being extrovert has its downsides – starting with seeing the photos the next day…
Ulrika Jonsson has been letting her hair down in lockdown… by not washing it.
The ex-weather presenter boasted she’d gone eight days without giving her famous blonde locks a rinse.
After she finally gave in, she posted a very tanned bathroom pic.
“The sun came back! So I washed my hair,” said Ulrika, 52. “God, I hate washing my hair. It’s so fecking boring.”
It’s clearly an area of high pressure for Ulrika but, for her hair’s sake, let’s hope there’s a good probability of more showers over coming days...