Coleen Nolan has been a firm favourite on the Loose Women panel since 2000, so when she was noticeably absent last week fans were left worrying about what was wrong.
However, the 58-year-old broke her silence to issue an update on her wellbeing, revealing she was “stressed” and had decided to step back from the daytime show for her “mental health”.
In a candid Instagram video, where Coleen went make-up free, the mum-of-three said: “Hi everyone. I’ve had a week off this week. I was getting a bit stressed [with] so many things happening and I just thought, [it’s] very important for your mental health to just sometimes go, ‘I can’t do it this week’, and that’s what I did.
“Very kindly, Loose Women let me do that and I was really looking forward to it… a nice, chilled-out week, not thinking about anything.”
And in a reminder that we should all take a bit of time for self-care, she added, “I also wanted to say, if you’re feeling a bit stressed sometimes, and it’s only a week, even if it’s a couple of days, you just need to take that break and regroup and do normal, everyday things… Remember, think about you sometimes.”
Fans were quick to rush to the comment section to show their support for Coleen – but also raise their concerns and worries about what is really going on.
“Just recharge and reset, we’re all here for you,” one wrote. Another penned, “It’s so important to look after your health, mental and physical.”
“I hope you’re feeling better now,” a fan wrote as many pondered what had caused Coleen’s stress.
“Good for you, Coleen. It’s nice to see you back today but your health comes first,” another concerned supporter commented.
It’s no secret that Coleen has had a bit of a hard time this year, most recently facing a skin cancer scare.
Cancer, heartbreakingly, has impacted the Nolan family enormously, with Coleen’s father, Tommy Nolan Sr, passing away in 1998. Since then, Coleen’s sisters Bernie, Anne and Linda Nolan have all suffered, with Bernie dying in 2013.
So it comes as no surprise that Coleen wanted to err on the side of caution when it came to her very own health scare, prompted by a red patch on her shoulder that wouldn’t go away.
In a bid to raise awareness, the star shared her personal experience and opened up on originally writing the mark off as “just a bit of eczema”.
It was later examined during an appointment with a dermatologist and Coleen was told the patch was a carcinoma – a type of skin cancer that most often develops on areas of skin exposed to the sun. Thankfully, she was advised it could be treated with topical chemotherapy or ‘chemo cream’.
Just seven months before her diagnosis, Coleen had shared devastating news with her fellow Loose Women panellists that her sister Linda’s cancer had spread to her brain.
Linda, 64, was first diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2005 and went into remission the following year. However, she was then diagnosed with a secondary cancer in her hip in 2017, which spread to her liver in 2020.
“She’s just so strong all the time, so it makes the rest of us strong,” Coleen said, supporting her big sister. “She’s had incurable cancer for quite a while, but it’s always been treatable… Up until this point, [it’s] always been quite positive.”
More recently, the presenter has also admitted to feeling she’s struggled now that her three children – Shane, 34, Jake, 30, and Ciara, 22, have all moved out.
“I’ve been feeling so redundant, like I don’t have a purpose any more,” she said.
Notably, the last time Coleen stepped away from Loose Women was in 2018, when she was subjected to online trolling following a controversial interview with Kim Woodburn. The pair have had a long-running feud since appearing on Celebrity Big Brother together back in 2017.
But it was the unwavering support of her fans who championed her return and encouraged her back to her seat on the panel. Her co-star Linda Robson said, “The audience, every day they ask where she is, when she’s coming back.”
Talking about what’s going on in her life appears to be a cathartic way for Coleen to tackle any difficulties in her life head on.
“Worrying isn’t going to help me and stress, if anything, could lead to other problems. I try not to let it consume my life,” she’s previously said.
And now, it seems the week off has done her the world of good.
“Let me tell you, I can’t wait to go back to work,” Coleen reassured her followers on Instagram.
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