Nadia Sawalha, formerly of Loose Women, has said she is “happy” to no longer be on TV after suffering from “horrendous” anxiety throughout her career
Nadia Sawalha has expressed her happiness at no longer being on TV, just weeks after threatening ITV with legal action over her Loose Women exit.
Nadia, 61, was on the Miss Leigh Ding Fortunes podcast when she shared how she really felt about stepping away from television. The former EastEnders and Loose Women star said: “I am happy to not be on telly and I’m happy to have a free voice.”
She added that she was “grateful” to have her own YouTube channel, Coffee Moaning, as she feels she has a “much more meaningful voice” now, than when she was on TV. “Television is a dying place, it really is,” she continued. “And it’s a silencer.”
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Earlier in the podcast, Nadia also revealed how anxious she had been whilst on TV shows. She said: “I was so anxious. The anxiety was horrendous. It’s unlike anything else, because you don’t get any real double takes – it’s just literally ‘remember your lines and don’t bump into the furniture.'”
She added that, despite the trolls who criticised her online, no one could get to her anymore as she “had so many trolls” in her own head and felt “no troll has ever said anything nastier” than she had to herself.
Nadia’s words come after she and a legal organisation representing her sent a pre-action letter to ITV, claiming the broadcaster had “subjected Nadia to direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment because of her protected philosophical beliefs”.
This came amid an alleged row over her vocal support of Palestinian rights. In an Instagram video, the star said she was the “target of an escalating campaign of smears, complaints, hostile media coverage and targeted calls to have [her] removed from Loose Women”. She added that, after “speaking out against brutal oppression”, her critics accused her of promoting false claims and conspiracies, and that ITV took her on and off Loose Women several times.
She also said she had “mostly been told” by ITV that “the reason for [her removal] was, ‘It’s all a bit noisy out there for us'” and that they were “forever changing the goalposts” on when she could come back.
The European Legal Support Center (ELSC), which supports pro-Palestinian cases, wrote to ITV on her behalf, alleging she was discriminated against because of her “anti-Zionist beliefs”, which are “protected under the Equality Act 2010”.
Nadia has since said she is taking ITV to court over the issue. She confirmed the news at the Ethnicity Awards in London. Nadia announced: “I’m officially not on Loose Women any more, as of four weeks ago. I’m taking ITV to court. It’s a mountain of tension.”
Despite Nadia’s statement at the Ethnicity Awards, an ITV source told The Mail the broadcaster was ‘not aware’ of any court action, although it confirmed that it had received a legal letter. The source said: “She sent a legal letter to us and we have responded.” The Mirror went to ITV and Nadia’s representatives for comment at the time.
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