Nadia Sawalha has shared an emotional update with Loose Women viewers after announcing she was taking legal action against ITV.
The TV presenter, 61, spoke out as the lunchtime panel show returned following a seven week break over the summer.
Nadia confirmed she would not be returning to Loose Women and revealed what is happening with the petition calling for her comeback.
More than 90,000 people have now signed the petition calling for Nadia to be reinstated on the show.
Nadia Sawalha gives Loose Women update
Nadia filmed a YouTube video to coincide with Loose Women’s return to ITV. The panel show had been off air since mid-July as part of its summer break.
She titled the video ‘NADIA UNFILTERED: Loose Women is Back and I Have Very MIXED EMOTIONS’. It was uploaded on Sunday September 6, just hours before Loose Women returned to screens.
Sitting at home in a black vest top, Nadia said: “There is only one thing I can talk about today and that is the fact that Loose Women is back on air tomorrow.
“It is the first time that I know I won’t be on one single show. It’s weird. I’ve had so many messages asking how I’m feeling and it’s quite a complicated question to answer.”
She went on: “First and foremost, that means tomorrow the petition will be going in, which is incredible. Whether we will hear anything from ITV or not, I don’t know, because we still haven’t heard anything from them. I don’t know when I will or if I will.
“But the fact that 92,000 people took the time to sign it has really overwhelmed me and my family and friends and the community. Everyone is so moved and inspired by it.”
Why isn’t Nadia Sawalha on Loose Women?
Nadia confirmed last month that she was taking legal action against ITV. She claims she has been “treated unlawfully” because of her “protective beliefs”.
Nadia alleged that her problems began after she publicly expressed support for Palestine in December 2023. She claimed she had since faced an escalating campaign” of smears, complaints and hostile media coverage”.
Nadia also said she had been subjected to “targeted calls” for her removal from Loose Women.
The former EastEnders actress is one of the original Loose Women stars, having joined the panel when it launched in 1999. However, during the first half of this year, fans noticed her missing during repeated periods of absence.
In her own words at the beginning of August, Nadia said she had been “taken on and off” Loose Women several times. She also stressed that she had not discussed her beliefs towards Palestine on the programme itself.
The mum-of-two alleged that show bosses had told her: “It’s all a bit noisy out there for us.”
The petition calling for Nadia’s return to Loose Women states: “Instead of standing by Nadia, ITV has continued to keep her off Loose Women, with no indication of when, or if, she will return.
“Nadia has spent more than two decades doing exactly what Loose Women celebrates: speaking openly, honestly and fearlessly. No one should be punished or treated unfairly at work for expressing sincerely held beliefs or speaking out against injustice.”
ED! has contacted ITV for comment.
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