Loose Women Faces Fresh Fallout as Nadia Sawalha’s Family Slams “Cowardly” Silence While Denise Welch Is Showered With Support

The departures of Denise Welch and Nadia Sawalha from Loose Women have prompted dramatically different reactions, with Nadia’s husband and sister publicly criticising what they see as a striking lack of support for her compared with the warm send-off given to Denise.

Denise, 68, announced this week that she was leaving the ITV daytime programme after appearing on and off as a panellist since 2005. The actress said she wanted to concentrate on her “first love” of acting following a number of new opportunities.

Her announcement immediately prompted affectionate messages from colleagues and former co-stars.

For Nadia, however, the circumstances surrounding her own departure have been far more contentious.

Nadia Sawalha’s Husband Says the Silence “Breaks My Heart”

Nadia, 61, who is half Palestinian, has claimed she was “bullied off” Loose Women following complaints connected to her pro-Palestinian views. She is now threatening legal action against ITV over her treatment.

Her husband, film producer and local councillor Mark Adderley, has spoken publicly about his disappointment at what he believes has been a lack of support for Nadia from people she worked alongside.

In a video posted to the couple’s YouTube channel, Mark said the situation “breaks my heart.”

“I am absolutely flabbergasted, agog, horrified, shocked, beyond dismayed and disappointed by the cowardly lack of support I have heard or seen for you from people I would’ve expected it to come from,” he said.

Nadia responded more cautiously, saying: “Life teaches us a lot – and different people make different decisions for their lives.”

Mark said his frustration was heightened by the support Nadia had given others over the years, describing her as someone who had “championed, defended, supported, looked after, lauded others.”

Denise Welch Receives an Outpouring of Affection

The reaction to Denise’s departure provided a sharp contrast.

When she announced on Tuesday that she was leaving Loose Women, her fellow panellists publicly expressed their disappointment while celebrating her next career move.

Kaye Adams wrote: “Densy Squelch – you have broken my heart but I shall watch your Den-aissance with love and pride.”

Katie Piper said she was “gutted” and would miss sharing the panel with Denise, while GK Barry praised the joy she brought to the programme and said she was looking forward to seeing what Denise did next.

Judi Love said she was excited about her colleague’s “new chapter,” while former panellist Carol McGiffin also wished Denise well.

Nadia herself joined the supportive messages, telling Denise: “You are such a fantastic actress. Fly high lovely.”

ITV also issued a warm statement following Denise’s announcement.

“Denise has been such a brilliant part of the Loose Women family and we are going to miss her hugely on the show. We are sending her all of our love and best wishes for her next chapter,” a spokesperson said.

Nadia’s Sister Calls Out Kaye Adams

That public show of affection did not go unnoticed by Nadia’s sister, Dina Sawalha.

After seeing Kaye Adams’s message to Denise, Dina criticised her for apparently failing to show similar public support for Nadia.

“So your Instagram does work!” she wrote.

Dina referenced Nadia’s previous support for Kaye during bullying allegations and criticised her for not even “liking” a post concerning an apology Nadia had received from the Daily Mail.

Last month, Nadia and Mark received what was described as a “substantial” payout and an apology from two newspapers over false claims published about them.

Nadia Says She Fears a “Culture of Fear”

Nadia offered her own explanation for why some former colleagues may have chosen not to speak publicly.

She described herself as “quite tribal” because of her half-Arabic background and suggested some people could fear professional consequences for publicly supporting her.

“I do believe there is a culture of fear in various places that I’ve worked where if you are shown to show any support for me because I am anti-Zionist and I am anti-genocide and I’m half Arabic then you would be in danger of being phased out of your job,” she said.

Since December 2023, Nadia says she has been speaking out against what she describes as “brutal oppression.” Critics, meanwhile, have accused her of promoting conspiracies involving Israel and Jewish people.

Those competing claims have become central to the controversy surrounding her departure.

Nadia has said she now intends to take legal action against ITV, although she described reaching this point as “sad.”

“Believe me, I have appealed to ITV’s hearts and minds, but to no avail,” she said.

Denise Says Goodbye After 21 Years

Denise’s reasons for leaving are very different.

Having recently appeared in Channel 4 drama Tip Toe and previously starred in programmes including Waterloo Road, Coronation Street, Benidorm and Hollyoaks, she said new acting opportunities had convinced her that it was time to focus fully on that side of her career.

Looking back on 21 years associated with Loose Women, Denise said she had “wonderful memories” and thanked both viewers and colleagues.

“I’m very Marmite, but I cherish all the comments good or bad that I’ve had over the years and I just hope you wish me well for this new and exciting chapter in my life,” she said.

Despite leaving the programme, Denise insisted the friendships would continue.

“I’ll miss everybody but I will remain friends with the whole gang because we are a happy band of campers.”

Her affectionate farewell has nevertheless intensified scrutiny of the very different circumstances surrounding Nadia’s exit — and prompted Nadia’s family to publicly question why someone they say spent years supporting others has received comparatively little support herself.