Sherrie Hewson says Loose Women feels so different today that she no longer recognises the show she once knew.
The former panellist made the comments during an interview with the Mirror while looking back across her 70-year career. She spent more than a decade on the ITV daytime programme before leaving in 2016.
Sherrie remembers a livelier atmosphere, where sharp disagreements could unfold without damaging friendships away from the cameras. She said: “We just said what we thought, and somehow we got away with it!”
She contrasted that freedom with what she described as today’s more cautious television environment.
“Loose Women in my day was extraordinary, because we didn’t have the problems we have now where you can’t say that,” Sherrie insisted.
Loose Women has undergone major changes
Loose Women launched in 1999, putting female opinions at the centre of a daytime discussion programme. Sherrie said women had less public power then and were often expected to stay quiet.
She welcomes the stronger voice women have today and views that change positively.
The format itself has recently faced notable changes. The Mirror reports that Denise Welch and Nadia Sawalha are among the big names to leave.
It also says the programme now airs for 30 weeks each year, rather than 52. The live studio audience has reportedly been removed as part of efforts to reduce costs.
Sherrie has since appeared as a guest several times after leaving her regular role.
Sherrie Hewson remembers the Loose Women bond
The bond backstage mattered greatly to Sherrie. She described Coleen Nolan as a longstanding friend and said Carol McGiffin had also been close.
She remembered colleagues supporting her through her divorce. The group also helped one another through illness, sadness and other difficult periods.
“We were a family then,” she said. This emotional support remains one of her strongest memories of the programme.
“We had the most I had unbelievable rows with Janet Street-Porter, but they were real rows. We were still friends afterwards and went out to dinner. You don’t see that anymore, but because we had the freedom to do it, it was a very different day,” she said.
“Now it’s a very different show, because obviously you’ve got to be very careful, like everything on television now. You’ve got to be very careful what you say, how you say it!” Sherrie continued.
Producers would test whether the panellists truly held their strong positions before a discussion went on air. For Sherrie, that freedom made the programme feel very different from its current version.
Sherrie Hewson would welcome a Benidorm film
Away from Loose Women, Sherrie played Joyce Temple Savage in Benidorm for 10 years. The Solana manager became one of her best-known television roles.
She praised writer Derren Litten for creating the character and recalled the cast’s time in Spain warmly. Sherrie also said she would welcome a Benidorm comeback, ideally as a feature-length film.
“Wouldn’t it be great as a film? The Benidorm film!” she said.
Her wider acting career includes parts in Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks. She recently appeared as Martha Blake in Hollyoaks, following previous soap roles as Lesley Meredith and Maureen Naylor.
Even with fond memories of Loose Women, Sherrie’s verdict on its evolution is clear. She loved the programme she knew, but sees today’s version as a very different production.
Read more: Loose Women star Sherrie Hewson dishes dirt on show following Denise Welch’s exit
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