Saira Khan, star of Loose Women, has triumphantly returned to television after a four-year hiatus.
The 53-year-old has avoided the spotlight since leaving the daily ITV programme in 2021 following a reported disagreement with producers over an OnlyFans inquiry.
Saira returned to TV today as a panellist on Channel 5’s afternoon show, Jeremy Vine, after the host convinced her to reconsider her absence.
Saira reflected on her homecoming on Instagram, saying her first day back was ‘loads of fun’ and thanked the programme’s crew for looking after her.
‘So after a few years off the telly, it was lovely to come back – @thejeremyvine persuaded me to do it and I’m not gonna lie…. I really enjoyed it,’ she captioned the post.
‘So thank you @jeremyvineon5 @thejeremyvine @owenjones84 for making my first day back lots of fun.
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‘Thanks to the @jeremyvineon5 team who put the show together – all very lovely and I felt so looked after.
‘It was good to have a little rant and let off some steam!’
Coleen Nolan, her former Loose Women co-star, was among many who celebrated her return in the comments section.
‘Yessss about time ❤❤xx,’ she wrote.
Instagram account Kelly Kalra also enthused: ‘Watched you, you were great, very articulate x.’
Agreeing, Tina Hope added: ‘Get her on TV love her miss her on L.W.xx.’
When Saira resigned from Loose Women in January 2021, she said in a column written for The Mirror she was pursuing other ventures.
‘After five years of being a regular panellist, I’ve decided to give up my seat to another woman who will benefit from the platform as I did,’ she wrote.
‘I feel like I’m graduating from the University of Loose, but I’ve got my diploma now and I’m off to pursue degrees in other life experiences.’
In 2022, Saira stated that her departure was due to an offer from ITV to work for OnlyFans.
She said that she quit ‘quietly’ after being persuaded to join the content subscription service, which she regarded as ‘offensive’ and ‘disgusting’.
Saira added she felt compelled to share her claims on Instagram to ‘make sure that other women who work either in this show or on others are treated and supported in a way that protects them’.
Sharing more details about ITV’s alleged approach, she explained: ‘They asked me to go undercover and open an OnlyFans account for an investigative story – I had no idea what that even meant – it was asked by a junior producer who was sent running after me just as I was leaving to go home.’
A spokesperson for Loose Women said at the time that they ‘strongly refute’ Saira’s claims.
‘Duty of care is of paramount importance for all of our panellists,’ they continued.
‘Saira left the Loose Women panel almost two years ago and we wish her well.’
Saira also claimed that she was one of the ‘loud, gobby’ Loose Women panellists, while only Stacey Solomon was permitted to be ‘fun.’
She explained to Close: ‘I couldn’t be who I wanted to be on TV. On Loose Women you saw me being quite feisty. But that’s the silo they put me in.
‘I wanted to have a bit of fun, but that wasn’t for me, that was for Stacey Solomon. Stacey was the fun one, but I had to be the “loud, gobby one”. ‘
After finishing as runner-up on The Apprentice in 2005, Saira went on to present The Martin Lewis Money Show and join the Loose Women panel.
She and her husband Steve Hyde have a son, Zacariah, and a daughter, Amara, whom they adopted from Pakistan.