Saira dared to change her life after appearing on SAS show
FORMER Loose Women panellist Saira Khan decided to leave the show after her “life changed” following her appearance on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
The Long Eaton-born television presenter, 51, said: “I did take big drastic steps. I left Loose Women and, interestingly, Andrea McLean left Loose Women after doing SAS. It changes your life. You realise you’ve got to cut through the s**t and start living.
“When you’re stripped of everything as a naked woman all you have to depend upon is yourself. That’s very telling, very strong and most people will never experience that.”
After her stint on the programme, Saira said: “I didn’t want to go back to the same **** , getting the same results, so I changed my life. I’m actually very happy about it.”
Saira, who gained her TV break as a candidate in the first series of The Apprentice in 2005 and finished runner-up, had previously explained how she “never felt successful” before appearing on the Channel 4 boot camp reality show.
Saira said: “For me, it was very important to recognise that if I don’t stop now, and take stock of my life and my situation and what I’ve actually achieved from myself, alone, I’m never going to get to that stage where I feel actually quite successful.’
“I think up until this point, I’ve just never felt successful in my life, ever.
“And then doing something like SAS and feeling, my goodness, I know I’m strong, but I really, I really, you know, felt strong and, and then prove to myself that I don’t need to prove myself if you know what I mean.”
Saira says she has remained good friends with Loose Women colleagues Linda Robson, Christine Lampard, Coleen Nolan and Ruth Langsford after quitting the show.
She told OK!: “Out of everyone, they’re the people I’d invite round to my home and the ones I’ve got a relationship with. There were some women that I just thought, ‘I’ve got to just tolerate you to do the job and in real life you wouldn’t be my friend.’ They’d say the same about me.”
Saira decided to the quit Loose Women at the start of the year, revealing in a statement at the time that 2020 gave her time to reflect.
“So I start this new year by saying goodbye to Loose Women,” she said at the time.
“After five years of being a regular panellist, I’ve decided to give up my seat to another woman who will benefit from the platform as I did.”
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins returned to Channel 4 on Sunday. Contestants hoping to triumph in the tough survival show include former X Factor winner Alexandra Burke; BBC presenter and former Strictly champion Ore Oduba; Olympic rower James Cracknell; former Atomic Kitten band member Kerry Katona; Love Island star Wes Nelson; former I’m A Celebrity contestant Vicky Pattinson; Dancing On Ice 2018 champion Jake Quickenden; former Good Morning Britain presenter Ulrika Jonsson; ex-footballer Kieron Dyer; Paralympian Aled Davies and three-time BMX world champion Shanaze Reade.
The second episode airs on Sunday at 9pm.