Janet Street-Porter, the Loose Women stalwart, has announced she’ll be taking a break from the popular chat show.
The 77-year-old broadcaster is well-known for her role as a panellist on ITV’s leading daytime programme. During Wednesday’s episode, Janet appeared on our screens with fellow stars Coleen Nolan, Christine Lampard, and Katie Piper. Early in the show, Christine revealed that it was Janet’s “last day for a little while” as she’s set to have a hip replacement operation on Friday.
Janet openly expressed her nerves about the upcoming surgery, confessing she’s been consumed by thoughts of it, to the point of ‘shaking and shivering’. Christine began the conversation with: “Janet this is your last day for a little while because you are heading off for the operation, the one you have been waiting for a while.”
To which Janet responded: “Yes, on Friday I am heading off to have a hip replacement operation at last and I can’t think about anything else.”
She elaborated: “As I’m sitting here, I’m shaking and shivering and I keep dreaming about it. I keep thinking ‘what if they can’t get it back together’. I am going on Friday, I’ll have the operation Friday afternoon, stay in hospital for a few days then I’ll really work on it at rehab so I can come back as soon as possible.”, reports the Mirror.
The studio erupted in laughter when she humorously suggested to her co-stars: “I’ll have to do one of those broadcasts from my hospital bed.”
Coleen was visibly moved as she confessed: “You know this morning when we were talking about it – it made me really sad because you always put on this tough image that nothing does your back in and at one point today you said ‘I’m really scared’ and I could have cried my eyes out.”
Janet, holding back tears, acknowledged her vulnerability: “I am vulnerable and you know what it’s my own fault because they told me in March to have it done but I delayed it but then at the weekend I have some vegetables delivered and even though I shouldn’t I was on all fours planting them.”
She admitted a regrettable decision as she recounted: “I woke up on Sunday morning and I couldn’t move and now I’ve really messed up the other side of my back and I had to lie-down for two days.She added: “.
Janet continued with frustration: “I realised that I let myself get too weak and I’ve never been like this in my life and it’s just so irritating.”
The segment concluded with a heartwarming moment as Janet was presented with a surprise gift basket, complete with a framed picture of Coleen.
Loose Women airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 12.30pm