Denise Welch leaves Loose Women after 25 years to focus on acting

Denise Welch has confirmed she is leaving the ITV daytime panel show Loose Women after a tenure spanning nearly 25 years, on and off. The actress and broadcaster, 68, announced her departure in an Instagram video on August 13, 2026, stating she is stepping away to focus on her acting career.

Welch explained that acting has always been her "first love" and that she is currently experiencing a surge of professional opportunities. "I'm leaving Loose Women after the best part of 25 years, off and on," she said in the video. "I did leave for about seven years and went back in 2018, and this show has been part of mine and my family's life for, well, a quarter of a century." She added, "I have the most wonderful, wonderful memories, and it's just that acting has always been my first love, and, I think, the thing I'm best at. And at the moment, I'm having the most wonderful opportunities coming my way, and I'm grabbing them by the you-know-whats and running with it for this new chapter of my life."

Welch thanked viewers for sharing their lives with her over the years. "I've shared my life with you, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm very Marmite, but I cherish all the comments, good...