Janet Street-Porter has announced that she is stepping down from her panellist role on ITV’s Loose Women after 13 years.
The outspoken journalist, who has been on the much-loved talk show since 2011, was supported by her co-stars as she shared that she would be leaving temporarily.
It comes as the 77-year-old is undergoing and recovering from a hip replacement, with the operation set to take place this coming Friday.
Janet admitted that she was worried about the upcoming surgery as she said: “I can’t think about anything else. As I’m sitting here I’m shaking and my hands are freezing cold. I keep dreaming about it.”
Explaining her show departure, she added: “I’m just going to go into hospital on Friday, have the operation on Friday afternoon, stay in hospital for a few days and then really, really work at rehab and physio so that I can come back as soon as possible.”
Her co-star Coleen Nolan said that it made her “really sad” to hear her friend and colleague going through a tough time. She said: “You always put on this tough persona and nothing bothers you.
“And then at one point today you said ‘I’m really scared’ and I could have cried my eyes out.”
Janet admitted that she has been delaying the operation since March but when she was doing some gardening recently she couldn’t cope with the pain. She said: “I’ve really messed up the other side of my back now and I’ve had to lie down for two days.
“It’s brought home to me that I let myself get too weak and I’ve never been like this before. It’s so irritating.”
Janet started her impressive television career at London Weekend Television in 1975. She initially worked as a presenter of a series of mainly youth-oriented programmes.
But now she is a household name, having taken part in a number of reality TV shows as well as being a consistent face on the Loose Women panel. She finished I’m A Celebrity in fourth place (2004) and came third on Celebrity MasterChef (2013).
The TV personality has also appeared on QI, Question Time and Have I Got News For You.