Saira Khan has criticised ITV for’siloing’ Loose Women presenters.
Only Stacey Solomon, 33, was ‘allowed to have fun,’ according to the 53-year-old, who served on the panel for five years until leaving in 2021.
Saira recounted her experience on the long-running daytime show: ‘I couldn’t be who I wanted to be on TV. You may have seen me on Loose Women being fairly feisty. But that’s where they placed me.
‘I wanted to have some fun, but it wasn’t for me; it was for Stacey Solomon. Stacey was the most entertaining, but I had to be the “loud, gobby one.”
She continued to Closer Magazine according to the Daily Mail: ‘I don’t need to be in environments which I don’t have to be in. I’ve worked hard all my life. I did the show and I enjoyed it, but it doesn’t define me.’
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.’
Saira, on the other hand, claimed last year that she left because ITV executives asked her to join OnlyFans.
She alleged that she left ‘quietly’ after being approached join the content subscription service, a request she described 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 told Metro.co.uk 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.’
Loose Women airs weekdays from 12pm on ITV.
