LOOSE Women legend Jane McDonald has admitted she wouldn’t return to the show now because she has no friends on the panel.
The 60-year-old appeared on the ITV lunchtime programme for ten years before leaving in 2014 – but was tipped to return this year for the 25th anniversary special.
She has now explained why the panel is no longer for her, explaining the strong bond the cast all had – while the current line-up is constantly plagued by feud rumours.
She told Woman magazine: “Never say never. But it was a period in time when everything was different. We could get away with things that we could never do now.
“And it was an era of girls who were not just colleagues – we were a force to be reckoned with. We were like Sex and the City when we hit the town. We’d have taken a bullet for each other.
“I don’t think I could go back without my friends on the same panel.”
Jane’s rep previously shut down reports she would be back on the show, saying: “There are no discussions taking place with regards to Jane returning to Loose Women whatsoever.
“She always thoroughly enjoys going back as a guest and catching up with the ladies but there’s no plans to go back as a panellist.”
During her time on the show, Jane appeared alongside the likes of Carol McGiffin, Lisa Maxwell and Denise Welsh, Linda Bellingham and Andrea McLean.
These days the show features a wide range of women including Charlene White, Coleen Nolan, Linda Robson and Olivia Attwood.
Coleen has been amongst the stars who have alluded to drama between the women in the past.
She even admitted that she previously ‘fell out of love’ with the show for a bit.
“It was because certain people behind the scenes weren’t being nice and I wasn’t enjoying it,” she confessed.
“Then those people went onto other things and great people came in, and I’ve loved it ever since.”
And in stark contrast to how Jane feels about her time on show, Coleen told Best Magazine: “Some are great work colleague friends and others, even if I left the show, I’d stay in touch with.”
While Saira Khan, who was on the show between 2015 and 2020, said after she left: There were some women that I just thought, ‘I’ve got to just tolerate you to do the job and in real life you wouldn’t be my friend.’
“They’d say the same about me.”
Jane has had continued TV success since and has returned to the show to talk about her various programmes, as well as the death of her beloved partner – The Searchers drummer Eddie Rothe.
