Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha has revealed she is taking legal action against ITV, claiming she has been “treated unlawfully” because of her “protected beliefs”.
The 61-year-old presenter shared the announcement in a three minute Instagram video on Thursday after months away from the ITV daytime show.
Nadia said her legal team had now written to the broadcaster following her recent periods of absence from the panel.
Nadia Sawalha announces legal action against ITV
In her Instagram video, Nadia said: “My legal team at ELSC have today written to ITV alleging that I have been treated unlawfully due to my protected beliefs.”
She said she felt “sad” that the situation had reached this stage. Nadia claimed she had tried to resolve the issue directly with ITV before deciding to pursue legal action.
“I have appealed to ITV’s hearts and minds but to no avail,” she said.
Nadia alleged that her problems began after she publicly expressed support for Palestine in December 2023.
She claimed she then became the focus of an “escalating campaign” involving “smears, complaints and hostile media coverage”. Nadia also alleged there had been “targeted calls” for her to be removed from Loose Women.
According to Nadia, she has been “taken on and off” the show several times. She stressed that she had never discussed Palestine while appearing on the programme.
However, Nadia alleged that show bosses told her: “It’s all a bit noisy out there for us.”
She also claimed that a 20-page open letter from a group of “prominent pro Israel media figures” had been sent to ITV. Nadia said the letter argued against her returning to the show.
She added that she had never seen the letter or the allegations it was said to contain.
Nadia claimed her statement covered only “the tip of the iceberg of what’s been happening”. She added: “This is Instagram and I only have three minutes.”
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Nadia Sawalha launches petition for her Loose Women return
Alongside the legal action, Nadia also revealed she had launched a petition urging ITV to reinstate her on Loose Women.
She explained: “Two years ago, a petition to get me removed from Loose Women was set up, but now I want to show there are many more people with us than against us.”
Nadia urged supporters to sign the petition, saying she would “love” their backing.
Fighting back tears, the former EastEnders actress also claimed that people working in other industries had “suffered a similar fate” after speaking out.
She ended her video with a direct message, saying: “Enough is enough. We need to send a message to ITV and other groups and operations that we won’t be scared into silence.”
ITV has been contacted for comment by ED!.
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