Denise Welch Quits Loose Women After Nearly 25 Years as ITV Show Faces Another Major Departure

Loose Women is losing one of its most familiar faces, with Denise Welch confirming she is stepping away from the long-running ITV daytime programme after almost a quarter of a century of involvement.

The former Coronation Street and Soldier Soldier actress announced her departure directly to fans, explaining that she wants to devote more of her time to the career that was her “first love” — acting.

Welch’s exit comes during a significant period of change for Loose Women, following Nadia Sawalha’s far more contentious departure from the programme.

As another longtime panellist prepares to leave, it marks the end of a substantial chapter for a show that has spent decades generating headlines through its outspoken debates, emotional interviews and occasionally explosive confrontations.

Denise Welch confirms she is leaving Loose Women

Welch shared the news through her Instagram Stories, reflecting on just how long Loose Women has been connected to both her professional and family life.

“I am leaving Loose Women after best part of 25 years off and on,” she told followers.

Welch acknowledged that her time on the programme was not continuous. She previously spent around seven years away before returning in 2018.

Even with that break, however, the show has remained part of her life for close to 25 years.

“I have the most wonderful, wonderful memories,” she said.

Her decision does not appear to have been driven by unhappiness with the programme. Instead, Welch says a resurgence in acting opportunities has persuaded her that now is the right time to move on.

‘Acting has always been my first love’

Before becoming such a familiar presence on daytime television, Welch built her career as an actress.

She appeared in Soldier Soldier and played Natalie Horrocks in Coronation Street, among numerous other roles.

Now she wants acting to become the primary focus again.

“Acting has always been my first love, and I think the thing I’m best at,” Welch explained.

She added that she currently has “the most wonderful opportunities” coming her way and intends to embrace them as she enters what she described as a new chapter of her life.

Welch also thanked the people who have allowed her to share personal stories during her years on the panel.

Those candid discussions became an important part of her Loose Women identity, with the programme frequently encouraging its presenters to speak openly about their own experiences rather than simply commenting on the day’s headlines.

Nadia Sawalha’s exit has been far more controversial

Welch’s departure comes alongside major changes involving another of the programme’s best-known personalities.

Nadia Sawalha, who was part of the original Loose Women line-up when the programme launched in 1999, has claimed she was effectively “phased out” of the show.

Her circumstances are considerably more contentious than Welch’s voluntary decision to focus on acting.

Sawalha has publicly raised concerns about her treatment by ITV and alleged that accusations were presented to her without giving her a proper opportunity to respond.

She has also said she feared her outspoken support for Palestinian rights may have influenced what happened.

Those claims remain Sawalha’s account of events.

Her association with Loose Women spans more than two decades. After appearing during its original era, she left in 2002 before returning in 2013.

Loose Women has never been far from controversy

Major departures are only the latest chapter in the history of a programme built around strong opinions and unscripted debate.

Since its launch in 1999, Loose Women has regularly generated headlines beyond the subjects its panel was originally discussing.

Some incidents have resulted in widespread criticism.

Others have prompted thousands of complaints or intervention from broadcasting regulator Ofcom.

Among the programme’s most memorable controversies was a 2015 discussion involving Coleen Nolan and a bakery that had refused to make a cake carrying a message supporting same-sex marriage.

Coleen Nolan faced backlash over gay rights discussion

During the debate, Nolan argued that customers who disagreed with a business could choose not to return and encourage others to boycott it.

She then presented a hypothetical comparison involving someone asking a business to produce a cake expressing support for Islamic State.

The comparison triggered criticism, with Nolan accused of drawing an inappropriate parallel between the gay rights dispute and support for the terrorist organization.

It became another example of how quickly the programme’s conversational format could produce controversy when panel discussions moved into highly sensitive subjects.

Josie Cunningham interview sparked an uncomfortable debate

Another notorious Loose Women appearance involved Josie Cunningham, who discussed her decision to terminate a pregnancy while planning to undergo a rhinoplasty.

Cunningham, who had previously attracted headlines after receiving an NHS-funded breast augmentation, explained that pregnancy would have significantly delayed the cosmetic procedure.

She insisted that the termination had not been an easy decision.

The panel challenged her reasoning.

Gloria Hunniford asked why Cunningham had become so focused on her appearance, prompting her to explain that she had experienced bullying from the age of 13.

Jane Moore was particularly uncomfortable with the interview itself.

She argued that Cunningham needed genuine support rather than further television appearances built around shocking revelations.

Cunningham responded that fame was not her motivation, saying: “I’m not in this for the fame, it’s purely the money.”

Coleen Nolan and Kim Woodburn’s confrontation generated thousands of complaints

One of the programme’s most infamous episodes came when Kim Woodburn appeared alongside Coleen Nolan in 2018.

The two women had previously clashed while appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017.

Woodburn’s subsequent Loose Women appearance was intended to provide an opportunity for the pair to resolve their differences.

Instead, tensions rapidly escalated.

Woodburn became emotional while discussing her traumatic childhood before eventually leaving the set and calling Nolan “lying trash.”

The broadcast triggered more than 3,000 complaints to Ofcom, with most focusing on how viewers believed Woodburn had been treated by the panel.

The incident became one of the most widely discussed confrontations in Loose Women history.

Harvey Price’s live appearance also resulted in an Ofcom ruling

The programme faced another broadcasting controversy when Katie Price appeared with her son Harvey.

Harvey was 14 at the time and joined his mother for a discussion about the online abuse directed at him.

When asked what he thought about the people targeting him, Harvey responded with a strong expletive live on air.

The moment immediately generated headlines.

Ofcom subsequently ruled that airing the word before the watershed breached broadcasting rules.

However, the regulator considered the matter resolved after taking into account several factors, including the programme’s immediate apologies, its adult target audience, the producers’ duty-of-care preparations and measures introduced to reduce the risk of offensive language being broadcast again.

Denise Welch’s departure closes a major Loose Women chapter

Against that long history of heated debates and unpredictable live television, Welch has been one of the programme’s most recognizable personalities.

Her exit is notably different from some of the controversies surrounding the show.

She is leaving with positive memories and a clear objective: returning her attention to acting while opportunities are coming her way.

After nearly 25 years of appearing on Loose Women on and off, that means walking away from a programme that has accompanied a substantial portion of her public life.

But Welch does not appear to be treating the move as retirement.

Quite the opposite.

For the actress, leaving the panel is about making room for the career she says has always mattered most to her.

After decades of discussing other people’s stories — and sharing plenty of her own — Denise Welch is ready for a new chapter.