As Loose Women celebrated its 25th anniversary, eagle-eyed fans noticed a noticeable absence in the show’s commemorative silver jubilee portrait, which featured 18 of its iconic panellists.
The special picture included original members Jane Moore, Kaye Adams, Nadia Sawalha, and Ruth Langsford from the show’s 1999 debut.
Lining up for the celebration were fan-favourites like Judi Love, Katie Piper, Christine Lampard, Kelle Bryan, Frankie Bridge, and Dame Kelly Holmes. Viewers were also excited to see newcomers Charlene White, Sunetra Sarker, and Olivia Attwood-Dack alongside veterans Denise Welch, Linda Robson, Coleen Nolan, Janet Street-Porter, and Brenda Edwards.
However, Stacey Solomon‘s missing presence has not gone unnoticed, fuelling further speculations about her return amidst her career changes, reports the Mirror
Ever since her initial appearance in 2016 and subsequent decision to step back in December 2022, followers of the ITV show have been keenly awaiting news of her potential comeback, with social media comments such as “Where’s Stacey gone?!” and “This would have been better with Stacey,” expressing the sentiment accompanied by a teary emoji.
The mother of five briefly returned to Loose Women in November and explained her absence from the show. She told viewers: “It’s been crazy because Belle was a wonderful surprise, but what that meant was that I had to fit my filming schedule into a very short period of time. I’ve just been up and down the country with Sort Your Life Out and filming another show so I haven’t been able to even get into town.”
Linda doesn’t anticipate Stacey’s return anytime soon. Speaking to The Sun, she said: “She’s not going to be a regular anymore?I don’t think so, but you never know.
“.I would love her to come back, she’s a really good Loose Woman – she’s really honest. But I think she’s got too much on. She’s still really welcome but she’s just so busy.”
Reflecting on the enduring success of the show, Ruth stated: “I was on Loose Women from the very start and I have noticed a huge difference in how much more open people are about talking about difficult subjects.
“I believe that we have helped bring that about because we bring honesty to the show, we bring our own lives to the show. We talk about very difficult, painful things in our lives, but we know that that reflects what people are going through themselves at home and now we talk about Alzheimer’s, suicide, divorce, all sorts of things that were a little bit taboo and I think it’s great that we do that.”
Loose Women’s editor, Sally Shelford, stated: “Over the last 25 years, Loose Women has tackled taboos and talked about issues not openly discussed on television, including domestic abuse, menopause, miscarriage and grief. Our incredible audience in the studio and at home have always been the fifth Loose Woman, and we promise to keep talking, sharing and shining a light on important subjects like these for our amazing viewers.”.
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