I LOVE Loose Women... but I hope viewers might want an alternative

As she returns with a new daily TV show bearing her name after three decades, Daily Express columnist Vanessa Feltz reveals her secret weapon against ITV's top-rated chat show... ignoring the 'depressing' news agenda entirely

- By Fran Winston

WHEN Vanessa Feltz’s daytime talk show ended in 1998, Labour was in government, and Five and Robbie Williams were driving fans wild on tour. Fast forward 27 years and... well, not much has changed, Labour is back in power and a reformed Five and a reinvented Robbie Williams are still pulling in huge crowds.

What has changed is the competition facing Vanessa, as she makes a return to our screens on Channel 5 with her own lunchtime programme after a nearly three-decade absence.

And what’s also different is the tone of her new show, which she describes passionately as an escape from the “relentless and frightening” daily news agenda.

Starting Monday, the 63-year-old Express columnist and veteran broadcaster will occupy a prime spot in Channel 5’s schedule with a new 70-minute show.

Simply titled Vanessa, it will run from 12.45pm five days a week, coming after morning heavy-hitters Jeremy Vine and Storm Huntley. It will also pit her directly against ITV’s Loose Women, which began in 1999, a year after Vanessa left ITV.

However, Vanessa isn’t remotely concerned about the clash. “I’m a great admirer of the Loose Women,” she explains.

“Lots of them are my personal, close friends who I’ve known for years, and we all support each other. We all get on brilliantly.

“But I’m hoping that some people might like to vary their viewing schedule just occasionally, and shake it up a little bit, and make it over to Channel 5 to have a look at my beautiful living room.

“I’ve got this beautiful little bit of pale pink and pale green, beautiful rug and beautiful cushions, and it’s all really lovely. The set is delightful, and I hope that they will feel it’s an alternative, it’s different, it’s new.”