Denise Welch and Fern Britton are among a string of celebrities who have hit out at the police over their latest update regarding missing person Nicola Bulley, with the Loose Women star branding them an "absolute disgrace".
The former This Morning host, 65, took to social media on Wednesday to question the possible 'undertones' to the news Nicola had been considered a high-risk missing person from the start of the investigation, as Lancashire Police publicly revealed the mum-of-two had "significant issues" with alcohol.
Comedian Janey Godley, Denise Welch and former Coronation Street actress Nicola Thorp echoed Fern's concerns on Twitter, as many wondered if it is necessary for the public to know Nicola was dealing with a drinking issue brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause.
Taking to her Twitter page, Fern began telling her followers: "I am uncomfortable with the latest news suggesting that Nicola Bulley has an issue with alcohol and menopause.
"The undertone is that she maybe ‘ a bit unstable’ or perhaps even ‘not in her right mind.’ Too easy to write a woman off like this. What lies behind it?"
"This is so sad that they are highlighting menopause as a potential factor in her disappearance," one of Fern's fans replied on Wednesday, as comedian Janey retweeted the original message to her own followers.
This Morning star Emma Kenny shared an article regarding the press conference from Lancashire Police with her Twitter fans and wrote: "To say this is HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE is a major understatement!!! Nicola Bulley DID NOT NEED THIS PUTTING INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN!!!! This is a distraction from mistakes made END OF #nicolabulley."
Loose Women star Denise quote-tweeted Emma's message and added: "It’s an absolute disgrace!!!"
Former soap star Nicola also criticised the move from Lancashire Police, as she shared a screenshot of a new report about the revelation and tweeted: "I don’t see how any of this information is necessary when they have no concrete evidence of what happened to Nikki.
"A shameful PR spin at the expense of a victim’s reputation and dignity. #NicolaBulley."
Nicola disappeared along the River Wyre at around 9.20am on January 27 as she walking her pet dog Willow - with Lancashire Police suspecting the mum-of-two may have fallen in the water.
Her partner, Paul Ansell, says that while he wants to keep "all options open" about Nicola's disappearance, his "gut instinct" tells him she is not in the river.
Lancashire Police have this week revealed the mum-of-two had been considered a high-risk missing person from the start of the investigation and claimed they were called to a concern for welfare report at her home last month.
Health professionals also attended on 10 January, the force said, adding no arrests were made but it was being investigated.
A police spokesman said it was clear after speaking to Nicola's family she had "in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause".
"These struggles had resurfaced over recent months [and] this caused some real challenges for [her partner] Paul and the family," the spokesman added.
The force said it had taken the "unusual step" to go into this level of detail as it was "important to clarify what we meant when we talked about vulnerabilities to avoid any further speculation or misinterpretation".
"We have explained to Nicola's family why we have released this further information and we would ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."
Many social media users have accused Lancashire Police of victim blaming Nicola and argued there was no need for the public to know about her struggle with the menopause and alcohol issues.
