Loose Women star Andrea McLean gets teary as she departs the show
Loose Women presenter Andrea McLean has had a tearful exit from the daytime show as she hosted for the final time after 13 years on the panel.
McLean, who is the longest serving member of the panel, announced that she was quitting the show at the end of November. She said that she wanted to be "brave" and explained that she was leaving to do some more work with her website.
She admitted yesterday (December 15) that she was "dreading" her final show, and when the big day arrived today the tears were certainly flowing.
Related: Loose Women welcomes all-male panel for first time
Wednesday's instalment featured a number of throwback clips of McLean's best moments over the years, both hilarious and emotional, while a number of her co-hosts also sent in video tributes to the host.
Denise Welch made an appearance to pay a sweet tribute to McLean, saying that she is "so proud" of her co-star.
"Luckily for you I took you to the dark side," Welch joked. "I hope you've learned enough from me that will carry you forward in life and you'll never revert back to being the Snow White that you were."
McLean's former GM:TV co-host Ben Shephard also sent in a message, calling her "lovely", "gorgeous" and "welcoming" while also praising her for being such an important part of the ITV daytime "family".
Related: Holly Willoughby mixes up Loose Women stars on air
In a change of tone, The Only Way Is Essex star Joey Essex gave us all a laugh when he gave McLean payback for a previous incident in which he threw a pie into her face on the show.
He joined the show over video call to pie himself in a very unique goodbye.
It's not just any woman @JoeyEssex_ would take a pie in the face for!
Watch #LooseWomen ➡️ https://t.co/OQJh5NFFEV pic.twitter.com/j5Z7XuqIhs— Loose Women (@loosewomen) December 16, 2020
McLean held it all together for most of the episode, but she did give into the tears at the end of the show when fellow Loose Woman Brenda Edwards made a surprise appearance to serenade her co-host with a rendition of 'My Girl'.
Struggling to speak at the end of the show, McLean said: "Can I just say, being on Loose Women is like a real-life soap opera. It really, really is. There's highs, there's lows, there's drama, everything else. I'm like the landlady of the Rovers Return! I'm just handing over my bar, but I'll be back for my Chardonnay."
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV.
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