Nadia Sawalha has pledged to reveal the full truth behind her prolonged absence from Loose Women, describing the explanation as “pretty unbelievable.”
The 61-year-old television presenter, who has not featured on the ITV daytime programme since late April, posted a mysterious video to Instagram on Monday evening displaying her network lanyard bearing her name and photograph.
She captioned the clip: “‘Why haven’t I seen you on Loose Women for ages?’ Can anyone guess? Will tell you if you guessed right on Wednesday here 6pm.”
She signed off her caption with the hashtag “#solidarityrocks,” along with a dove and watermelon emoji.
Nadia Sawalha has vowed to tell all about her absence from Loose Women
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PAWhen one follower questioned whether the show’s producers had refused to bring her back, Ms Sawalha responded: “I will be telling the whole story. It’s pretty unbelievable.”
Her husband, Mark Adderley, offered only a cryptic “Hmm…” in the comments.
Elsewhere, another fan branded the departure “absolutely shameful”, before adding that “silencing people for speaking up for our shared humanity is disgraceful.”
Ms Sawalha appeared in agreement, replying: “There has been an awful lot of silencing over the last 78 years,” alongside another watermelon, dove, and love-heart emoji.
Nadia Sawalha has starred in ITV’s Loose Women on and off since 1999 | ITV
Another follower suggested Ms Sawalha was being silenced for “not fitting with the media narrative,” a point the former EastEnders star found “interesting.”
While Ms Sawalha was remaining somewhat cryptic about whether her pro-Palestine stance and Israel-critical posts may have played a part in ITV’s decision not to have her return to the Loose Women, her sister Dina was more forthright elsewhere in the comments.
“I’m guessing it’s probably UK Lawyers for Israel being annoying trying to silence you,” one Instagram user suggested.
Ms Sawalha’s sibling confirmed: “They are amongst a few.”
“ITV are Zionist media. You should establish your own TV programme,” another commented, which prompted Ms Sawalha’s sister to reply with a “100” emoji.
GB News has contacted ITV and Ms Sawalha’s representatives for comment.
Ms Sawalha was among the original panel when Loose Women first aired in 1999.
She remained part of the line-up until 2002 before departing, then rejoined over a decade later in 2013.
Nadia Sawalha’s sister responded to fans’ comments
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INSTAGRAM/NADIA SAWALHA
In the years since her return, the former EastEnders actress became a familiar fixture on the lunchtime chat show, regularly sitting alongside panellists including Coleen Nolan, Kaye Adams and Olivia Attwood.
The programme is presently on its summer break, but Ms Sawalha’s extended absence had already attracted considerable attention from fans and media well before the seasonal hiatus began.
Earlier this year, reports emerged suggesting that ITV bosses had removed Ms Sawalha from the programme over what were described as “unhinged” videos posted to Coffee Moaning, the YouTube channel she co-runs with Mr Adderley.
Her husband had separately been suspended by the Green Party prior to local elections following comments about Israel.
Nadia Sawalha also responded to fans’ concerns
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INSTAGRAM/NADIA SAWALHA
Ms Sawalha pushed back against what she characterised as a coordinated campaign against her partner. In a YouTube video, she stated: “We’ve been punished all along, right from when we first started talking about Palestine.
“The dark forces behind everything that you see is quite extraordinary, I have to tell you.”
She suggested that the negative coverage was down to sinister outside influences intent on damaging Mr Adderley’s reputation.
ITV publicly rejected claims that Ms Sawalha had been suspended from the show, though sources close to the situation painted a more nuanced picture.
Nadia Sawalha with Loose Women co-stars in 2017
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GETTYAn insider told the Daily Mail: “We love Nadia, she’s a great Loose Woman. There has been a lot going on so Loose Women is having some space from her for some calm.”
Ms Sawalha herself had previously moved to quash the suspension rumours on Instagram, insisting: “I have not been suspended from Loose Women.”
She also spoke candidly about broader upheaval at the programme, which has seen its output cut to 30 weeks annually since January and lost its studio audience.
In an interview with Women’s Weekly, she said: “The audience has always been the fifth Loose Women, it’s going to be very strange, it’s sad, but it’s the sign of the times.”