13 November 2023 , 11:34
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Anthea Turner and her sister Wendy "haven't stopped talking".
It's an unlikely reunion after the siblings had their infamous row back in 2018, leaving Channel 4 star Wendy shacked up in a budget hotel. She was living in the West London Travelodge after reportedly taking a five-figure loan from Anthea.
The sisters butted heads as Wendy accused Anthea of putting her under "intolerable pressure" to pay back the cash, reportedly damaging her mental health. Wendy and her husband Gary Webster's poor credit rating meant they had to live in the hotel. Speaking only a few years ago, Wendy said: "I'm profoundly hurt my own sister could behave in a way that has taken me to the edge of madness."
The pair appeared together on Monday morning's Lorraine (ITV)But now it appears the two have put the past behind them, appearing together on Monday morning's episode of Lorraine. The two admitted they haven't stopped talking since their accidental reunion which happened over Whatsapp.
Anthea received a message from the sibling's non-tech-savvy father Brian, not knowing it had been sent with the help of Wendy, who told Lorraine: "[Dad] was struggling with WhatsApp and Anthea called. Oh no, I sent you [Anthea] a Whatsapp message and you called dad straight away to say 'how on earth did you send that message dad?'.
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"It was all really confusing and technical and everything and I said 'for god's sake give me the phone' to dad, so [me and Anthea] started speaking on the phone and we've never stopped." The two have now worked together on a book, The King’s Coronation and the Kohinoor Diamond.
Their fallout began when Anthea lent Wendy and her husband a substantial amount of cash after they fell down on their luck. They claimed they were expecting a commission, which was subject to legal action, which never arrived.
"Don't get me wrong," Wendy said at the time. "We will always be eternally grateful to Anthea for helping us out of what we believed was a temporary hole. We would never have accepted the loan if we were in any doubt about being able to repay it."
Anthea and Wendy have reunited after years of arguments (BBC)They weren't able to repay the loan and Wendy said she was still down on her luck in 2018. Over that Christmas the family were house-sitting, but their poor credit rating meant they were living in two rooms in the London Travelodge.
She admitted: "There were no cooking facilities, so we had to buy prepared meals, and no washing machine. The bill was hundreds a week, almost double what we'd pay if we rented somewhere, and we're also having to pay to keep all our furniture in storage. But at least we've been able to stay together as a family."
Wendy said Anthea was "nowhere to be seen" during their tough times. "I'm not talking money. I'm talking about the sort of emotional support I gladly gave her when she went through a bad time. If everything between us became bright and bubbly and normal after [a commission], wouldn't that simply show it was only ever about the money?"
Anthea's team previously declined to comment when approached by The Mirror, however a close pal told us at the time that the former Blue Peter star was "devastated" to hear her sister's version of events "when she has consistently supported Wendy financially over decades". The friend added: "Their elderly parents will be heartbroken to read Wendy's twisted version after everything Anthea has done to help."