Loose Women star Coleen Nolan has opened up about the death threats that led to her taking a break from the show – claiming they made her take a look at her life.
The presenter was trolled relentlessly after rowing with CBB housemate Kim Woodburn on the show, with some of the comments turning personal.
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Along with sending thousands of complaints to Ofcom, and calling for ITV to fire her, trolls told Coleen she should die of cancer – the disease that killed her sister, Bernie, in 2013.
Speaking to The Mirror, Coleen said that the threats made her realise she needed to take some time for herself, after continuing to work through her divorce from Ray Fensome.
“I’d ploughed on with work and hadn’t faced up to my divorce, but when the death threats happened it was a catalyst and it all hit me,” she said. “I needed to get a grip on my life.”
She went on to say that the barrage of comments was hurtful from the start, but that it was the references to her late sister that were the last straw.
“You have to be made of steel to not be affected by hurtful comments,” she said. “But when people were saying things like, ‘I hope you die of cancer like your sister,’ it was time to stop.”
Coleen has expressed her regret for the on screen row in the past, and stated that she will never appear on screen with Kim again.
Speaking with The Mirror in August, she said that the episode had been planned as a chance for the two of them to bury the hatchet, after their conflict on Celebrity Big Brother, but it had not gone as well as hoped.
“I didn’t want to do the reunion,” she said. “It was the producers who said she wanted to make peace. I agreed because I was happy to draw a line under past differences.
“From the moment she arrived, it was clear Kim didn’t want to make up. Now I wish I could go back in time and not do it. It was ugly, upsetting and unpleasant for everyone.”
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The incident ended with Kim storming off the show, branding Coleen a bully as she went – and the experience is not one Coleen plans to repeat.
“I wish Kim well,” she said. “I hate to see anyone unhappy. But I want to forget we ever met again. I will never appear on a show with her again. It is better we keep to our own paths.”
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