Saira Khan slams Loose Women and says only Stacey was allowed to be 'fun'
Former Loose Women presenter Saira Khan has criticised the show, claiming Stacey Solomon was the only panelist allowed to be the 'fun one'.
The Apprentice star, 53, quit the programme in 2020 after five years, saying she had to "tolerate" some of her co-stars.
Saira also claimed the environment was 'toxic' as well as claiming producers had asked her to sign up to OnlyFans as a PR stunt – and now she's slammed the show again.
Speaking about her experience on the panel, Saira accused ITV bosses of 'siloing' her, saying: "On Loose Women you saw me being quite passionate, heated and feisty, but that's the silo they put me in.
Saira Khan has slammed Loose Women for putting her in a 'silo'
Saira quit the show after five years on the panel"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," reports Closer magazine.
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When she quit the show, the mum-of-two claimed the culture of Loose Women encouraged the presenters to argue, which made her "into a bitchy person I don’t want to be". Saira added: "I started to realise they just wanted me to tick the box of 'gobby Muslim woman'."
The presenter also claimed her comments taken out of context would be packaged up and used as clickbait, and often she would have to deal with the subsequent trolling and death threats. "I was never sat down and reassured to make sure I was OK," she said.
Responding to Saira's claims at the time, ITV said: "We strongly refute all of these claims. Duty of care is of paramount importance for all of our panellists. Saira left the panel almost two years ago and we wish her well."
A source added: "We were told Saira was leaving to focus on her 'businesses and online' and that 'she has nothing but good things to say about the show'. We are therefore surprised to hear these claims."
Saira received mixed reviews when she featured on Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary, which used a soundbite from Loose Women.
Writing for The Mirror she said: "When the world was introduced to Meghan Markle, I was so happy. A woman of colour in one of the most recognised institutions in the world was a symbol of change, hope and progress."
On Loose Women, I raised my hands excitedly and sang: "There’s a brown girl in da house."
However, Saira said "the social media trolls attacked" her over the soundbite, adding: "Some felt referencing Meghan’s skin colour was 'inappropriate'. Others said they hadn’t even noticed until I mentioned it.
"Both viewpoints are problematic. The colour of her skin mattered because it represented diversity and inclusion and gave the white, privileged Royal Family a different perspective. To ignore Meghan’s mixed-race heritage is a passive-aggressive way of not acknowledging her."
The Mirror has contacted ITV for comment on this story.
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