Former Loose Women star Andrea McLean has revealed she was rushed to hospital after collapsing at home in December.
The presenter, who had been notably absent from social media, shared her harrowing health battle in a Substack column, detailing how she suffered from severe pneumonia, acute kidney injury and sepsis.
“My life is still not back to normal,” Andrea admitted.
The Loose Women veteran co-presented the ITV talk show from 2007 to 2020. She made a surprise appearance in 2024 to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary.
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Andrea McLean rushed to hospital
Andrea initially thought she had a bad case of the winter flu. But, as her symptoms worsened, she realised something was seriously wrong.
“After seven days of sweating and shivering, with a raging temperature and chills, and pain in my chest and back, my wee turned brown,” she wrote.
She then collapsed in the bathroom, lying on the floor for an hour before her husband, Nick Feeney, found her.
“Like the adverts you see on telly with the elderly, I lay there for an hour before my husband found me,” Andrea recalled.
After calling 999, paramedics struggled to get Andrea out of their home due to the narrow staircase leading to their loft bedroom.
“The stretcher couldn’t turn, so getting me out was challenging.”
Once in the hospital, doctors diagnosed her with severe pneumonia – which had already caused an 80% loss of capacity in one lung – as well as acute kidney injury and sepsis. Sepsis can be life-threatening.
Andrea was immediately put on IV drips with extra-strong antibiotics and fluids.
‘It was like something out of a warped horror movie’
Andrea spent time in both the Emergency Assessment Ward and the Respiratory Ward, where she encountered distressing conditions.
One of the most frightening experiences was being placed in a ward with elderly dementia patients.
The TV star described the experience as something out of a horror movie, feeling trapped in pain, unable to move, while a confused elderly patient tried to attack her.
“I was terrified,” she wrote. “It was like something out of a warped horror movie. I was trapped in a bed, in pain, unable to move, and a very scary old lady was trying to attack me.”
Despite everything, Andrea was full of praise for her husband, Nick Feeney. Nick visited her twice a day, bringing her home comforts such as headphones and helping transport her back and forth to the hospital for continued treatment.
“Nick’s life stopped for the first few weeks of the New Year, too,” Andrea mused.
His patience and dedication were crucial in helping Andrea navigate one of the scariest periods of her life.
As she continues her recovery at home, Andrea admitted that 2025 has yet to properly begin for her.
“Life stopped for a while, but that’s all. I’m not better yet, but I will be. And I can’t make that happen any faster than the time it will take,” she concluded.
Andrea McLean was a Loose Women anchor for 13 years before her departure back in 2020.
She joined in 2007, after initially refusing to be a part of the show when she was asked to become a panelist.
Andrea revealed she found the panel’s stars “too shouty” and told her agent “absolutely not”. However, when she was informed that she’d actually be in the anchor’s seat, Andrea jumped at the chance.
More than a decade later, however, she made the decision to quit. She made the announcement in a very emotional edition of the ITV lunchtime show.
‘I’ll be leaving soon’
Speaking in the midst of the pandemic, Andrea said: “So many people are talking about how they can’t wait for life to get back to normal and I sat and did that, I thought do I want my life to go back to the normal it was before?”
Loose Women anchor Andrea McLean then added: “Last year I had a nervous breakdown and what I felt was this year, collectively, the world had a breakdown and the experience I had means that this year I was mentally really strong to deal with everything that the pandemic threw at us.
“But it made me stop and think, what do I actually want? If there is anything that can show us you only get one life… Are you living it the way you want? Doing everything you want to do? Being brave and taking chances? And I realised no.”
The star then became visibly choked up as she burst into tears, saying: “I didn’t think I was going to cry, but I’ll be leaving soon.”
Andrea McLean in Loose Women return
Since walking away from Loose Women, Andrea has trained to become a certified life coach.
She also made a Loose Women comeback for the show’s 25th anniversary… Not that viewers were impressed!
After much teasing, it was revealed that Andrea would be the Loose legend returning for the celebrations. However, many viewers commented that they would’ve rather seen Loose Women legend Jane McDonald make a panel comeback.
Send your well wishes to Andrea on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.