Nadia Sawalha has opened up about a degrading experience she suffered as a waitress in the past, saying she was made to feel “dirty” by the job’s requirements.
The Loose Women presenter said she walked out on a well-paid hospitality job after she was asked to serve a large group of people – while not wearing a bra.
She spoke about the incident on Thursday’s show, while the panel debated the latest fallout from the Presidents Club scandal.
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“I was in my late teens and an out of work actress,” said Nadia.
“It was advertised in an acting newspaper as a waitress job, and it was more money than I would normally have got.
“I should have realised there was something fishy about it,” she said.
“I arrived on the day and the uniform was a very tight pencil skirt and a white shirt, and as I went in to get my uniform they said ‘oh, no bra,’ and closed the door.
“I thought, ‘No bra? I’ve never, ever not worn a bra,’ and I immediately felt stupid, panicked, what am I going to do?”
Nadia went on to say that she dressed in the outfit and began to waitress in the room but felt really uncomfortable.
“It was all businessmen. Nobody particularly looked at me – it was just the norm. All these girls criss-crossing, with these shirts with their boobs hanging out, basically.
“And I lasted ten minutes.
“I literally felt dirty and so embarrassed at what I’d done and so stupid I hadn’t clicked.”
However, the panel told Nadia she shouldn’t feel stupid.
“You’re doing what anybody else does, see an advert and apply for a job,” said Saira Khan. “Why should you feel that’s fishy at all?
The panel had earlier been discussing the scandal surrounding the male-only Presidents Club fundraising gala.
The event – which has been running annually for 33 years – auctioned off various items in a bid to raise money for worthy causes including the Great Ormond Street Hospital.
But it drew attention when the Financial Times published an account of the event written by two undercover reporters.
It was alleged that the event, which restricted its guest list to men, was staffed entirely by young women, who were required to wear revealing black outfits, high heels, and matching underwear.
Many of the women alleged they were groped and propositioned during the evening, to the extent that some took refuge in the bathroom.
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The Loose Women panel discussed the revelations around the event, asking whether the charities that benefitted from it should be expected to return the money.
Great Ormond Street Hospital is among the organistaions that has vowed to return money donated from the club’s fundraising event.