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Denise Welch's former Loose Women co-star Carol McGiffin took a savage swipe at the ITV show after her pal announced her departure from the show on Thursday.

The Coronation Street star, 68, decided to step down from the ITV show to focus on her acting work, having been offered a string of roles in recent months.

Following her announcement on Instagram, Carol marked Denise's exit with a ruthless comment towards her former show.

'Baaaabes, can't believe you stuck it out for so long!' she swiped.

'Upwards and upwards it is then. I won’t see you up there but hope to see you down here sometime!'

Carol, who was one of the show's original panellists, was renowned for her no-nonsense talking during her on and off 20-year stint on the programme.

She previously opened up about the decision to leave the show back in 2023 in her weekly column for the publication.

Denise Welch's former Loose Women co-star Carol McGiffin took a savage swipe at the ITV show after her pal announced her departure from the show on Thursday (pictured together)

Following her announcement on Instagram, Carol marked Denise's exit with a ruthless comment towards her former show

Carol said: 'I haven't been on the show for two months now because I've had to step away from it. It was causing me too much stress, which was mostly down to a difficult contract issue I'd been challenging since January.

'The problem was, ITV were insisting, for the first time since I went back in 2018, that if I wanted to carry on doing the show, I would have to sign a contract that was totally unjust and unworkable for me, so I had to say no thanks.

'And I know it looks like I've thrown my toys out of the pram, but the whole saga was affecting my health.'

Meanwhile, Denise first appeared on Loose Women in 2000, before becoming one of the show's most recognisable faces. Her last appearance on the show was June 29.

In a video on Instagram, Denise shared she had decided to step down so she could focus on the 'wonderful opportunities' she'd been given.

Paying tribute to her fellow panellists, Denise said she would remain friends with 'all' of her co-stars, and insisted that despite claims of behind-the-scenes tensions, they were a 'happy band of campers'.

Denise recently starred in the Channel 4 drama Tip Toe, and is also set to star in an adaptation of Graham Norton's novel Forever Home.

Sharing news of her departure, Denise said: 'I'm leaving Loose Women.

'After best part of 25 years, off and on, I did leave for about seven years and went back in 2018. This show has been a part of me and my family's life for nearly a quarter of a century.

Carol and Denise formed part of Loose Women's original panellists (pictured together on the show in 2008)

The Coronation Street star, 68, decided to step down from the ITV show to focus on her acting work, having been offered a string of roles in recent months

'I have the most wonderful, wonderful memories and it's just that acting has always been my first love and I think the thing I'm best at, and at the moment I'm having the most wonderful opportunities coming my way.

'I'm grabbing them by the you know whats and running with it for this new chapter of my life.

'So I just wanted to say that in person to thank all of the people who have shared my stories with me, I've shared my life with you, the good, the bad and the ugly.

'I'm very Marmite, but I cherish all the comments good or bad that I've had over the years and I just hope you wish me well for this new and exciting chapter in my life.

'I'll miss everybody but I will remain friends with the whole gang because... we are a happy band of campers. Anyway lots of love, thanks for sticking with me.'

A spokesman for Loose Women said: 'Denise has been such a brilliant part of the Loose Women family and we are going to miss her hugely on the show.

'We are sending her all of our love and best wishes for her next chapter.'

Denise was a huge hit on Loose Women, but her string of opinionated rants divided opinion over the years.

Last year she took aim at her son Matty's ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift during an appearance on Bravo TV's Watch What Happens Live.

Denise was a huge hit on Loose Women , but her string of opinionated rants divided opinion over the years (pictured on Loose Women in 2026)

Denise seemed to accuse Taylor's fans of lashing out at anyone who dares to criticise the hitmaker, despite the pop star taking personal digs at her exes in her songs.

When answering a question about her reaction to the The Tortured Poets Department album, Welch replied: 'Obviously, on pain of death can I talk about that episode, but being her mother-in-law is a role that I am glad that I lost.'

Elsewhere, Denise has clashed with many of her Loose Women co-stars over the years, including Kaye Adams and Stacey Solomon.

Her most famous rants have been about Covid-19 restrictions, Matt Hancock entering I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

In June 2021, Denise also had a furious row with Gloria Hunniford over Covid-19 restrictions shortly after the height of the pandemic.

Denise and Kaye Adams also locked horns during a fiery exchange, as they debated whether the public should still follow Covid restrictions after Matt Hancock was caught breaking them himself.