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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Molly Pike

Loose Women unveil Charlene White as new main host after Andrea McLean quit

Charlene White has been confirmed as the new Loose Women main host.

Her new place on the panel comes after Saira Khan and Andrea McLean announced their departure within weeks of each other.

Andrea was the show's main anchor and Charlene has now taken over the role.

The news was announced on Monday's show and newsreader Charlene, 40, was the lead panelist.

She said: "I've been buzzing after all this time to be able to reveal I am the latest and the newest Loose Woman."

Saira decided to leave the ITV family after five years, due to "reassessing her priorities" during the first lockdown.

It followed Andrea's decision to step down to focus on her website.

Charlene has appeared on the ITV show several times.

She has made so many appearances that she was able to get a best bits montage on her first official show as a panelist on Monday.

Charlene was on the show with Nadia Sawalha and Stacey Solomon.

Charlene has already appeared on the show several times (ITV)

"I'm very happy! Thank you so much for having me ladies," Charlene said.

Nadia told her: "Yeah! You're one of us now."

She added: "I am. I'm officially a Loose Woman."

Charlene has been the lead newsreader on ITV News since 2019.

She started her career as a reporter on Radio 1's Newsbeat and its sister digital station, BBC Radio 1Xtra in 2002.

Charlene on ITV News (Carnegie42)

Charlene then became a presenter on 1Xtra's two-hour news programme TX in 2005.

In 2008 she joined ITN as a newsreader, before becoming the first black woman to present ITV News at Ten in 2014.

She made her first appearance on Loose Women back in August.

One of her most memorable appearances came in October during Black History month alongside Judi Love, Brenda Edwards and Kelle Bryan.

Charlene is replacing Andrea McLean as Loose Women's main achor (ITV)

It was the first time Loose Women had a panel that was only made up of black women.

Back in November Andrea announced live on air that she was leaving Loose Women.

She said: "You get one life, are you living it the way that you want? Are you doing everything you want to do? Are you being brave? Are you taking chances?

Saira Khan has also left Loose Women (ITV)

"And I realised - no," she said, as she broke down in tears. "Oh my goodness, I didn't mean to cry, I am so sorry."

"Oh don't Andrea, I know what you're going to say," said Linda Robson.

"I want to be brave, all the incredible feedback I've had from my book and the support I was able to give, I want to bring it to life.

"It was a really dig decision to jump to see if I fall or if I fly. And I just knew I would never know if I never tried.

"So I am saying goodbye to Loose Women."

Then just weeks later Saira said she was stepping down from the panel.

She wrote in her column for The Mirror, the pandemic "certainly made me assess my priorities, values and how I want to move forward with my life."

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