Loose Women star Coleen Nolan has revealed that late Bullseye host, Jim Bowen, once called her a "disgrace" for having a baby out of wedlock. She made the revelation during a talk with co-stars Christine Bleakley, Janet Street-Porter and Denise Welch on Wednesday, August 10. Earlier this week, one Love Island star found herself rumoured to join the panel. Read here to find out who it was.
On Wednesday, the topic of conversation was: 'Is marriage before kids and outdated notion?' and Coleen, 57, shared her thoughts on the subject. The Loose Woman has three children including Shane Jr, whom she was pregnant with at 23 - two years before she married EastEnders star Shane Richie. Seven years after marrying in 1990, Coleen and Shane split up.
Coleen said: "My mum and dad were fine about it and it was cool." She then touched upon how her mother was religious and maintained the belief that if her daughter was happy, then she too would be happy.
"And then this newspaper article came out with a double page spread," fumed Coleen, who went on to say that it featured an interview with the long-time host of popular '80s TV show Bullseye - who who passed away in 2018 at the age of 80 after complications from a number of strokes - who happened to mention her.
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Coleen added: "He came out saying that I was a bit of a 'disgrace' and a terrible example for girls of my age," before Denise replied: "What did it have to do with Jim Bowen?"
Coleen then quipped: "I don't know but he definitely wasn't the father," as the audience laughed. Quizzed on whether she found Jim's comments hurtful, she said: "Yes, it was a bit. I was going, 'Oh, does everyone think that?' But equally, I think it was the start of that era where people weren't doing that. It wasn't a big deal to me at that point.
"I think what he was trying to say was 'This sister, this girl group [The Nolan Sisters] who have come along who are all sweet and innocent - but that wasn't our doing, that was how the press portrayed us - and now I've 'let people down' by having sex outside of marriage."
Following the end of her first marriage, Coleen gave birth to a daughter, Ciara, on June 19, 2001 and became engaged to Ciara's father, long-time boyfriend Ray Fensome, a musician from Leeds, when he proposed on her 40th birthday in 2005. They married in November 2007.
On February 6, 2018, Coleen announced that she and Ray were getting divorced after two years of marital difficulties. The divorce was finalised in mid-December 2018, and Coleen said that the pair have been able to remain friends with each other since.
Loose Women airs on weekdays on ITV at 12:30pm
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