Denise Welch addresses Stacey Solomon 'refusing to work with her' after Loose Women debate

Denise Welch has slammed suggestions that she and her fellow Loose Women co-star Stacey Solomon are at loggerheads, following their on-screen debate about working from home last month. As their opposing views unfolded during the show, social media users claimed that the pair probably won't be on the panel together again anytime soon, which led to a report suggesting that Stacey had "refused" to do so.

Now addressing the debate a month later, Denise, 66, insisted that it had all been blown out of proportion. Explaining to podcast hosts in America what had happened, she said: "We had a discussion on a discussion show, where you're supposed to discuss things and maybe disagree.

"We disagreed on something, it was about young people and work ethic and since Covid, have Gen-Z become a bit more lazy and entitled, it was one of those kind of Loose Women things. Stacey said something about nurses and the NHS which provoked a great big reaction, and I actually agreed with her."

After later seeing a report that the Sort Your Life Out star had actually refused to work with her again, Denise said she had no choice but to call out the "complete lie" on her social media as she clarified on the Scheananigans podcast: "We're encouraged to disagree about things, it's a talk show!"

During the debate, mother-of-five Stacey, 35, stressed that jobs being remote with flexible hours for working families had made life easier, particularly for those with children.

Denise on the other hand said she felt as though there wasn't enough staff available now and claimed the country is "grinding to a halt".

The latter ranted: "We haven't got the staff, where are the staff? They've disappeared!"

Stacey replied: "They don't disappear because they're working from home," to which Denise then asked: "But, where are they Stace?"

Denise's co-star went on to say she believed people are happier to work from home these days, particularly when they see the likes of nurses not being looked after or paid properly.

Stacey added that she also thinks the Covid pandemic proved that people can do an "adequate if not better job" from the comfort of their homes, as opposed to being in a working environment, to which Denise disagreed.

Earlier on in the show, the panel additionally discussed their thoughts on Melania Trump staying with Donald Trump following his guilty verdict.

After each of the panellists put forward their opinions, Stacey received a round of applause as she ranted: "Why is the focus on his wife? It should be about him and his disgraceful acts."

During the episode, many viewers took to the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts.

One wrote: "I doubt we'll see Stacey on with Denise for a while... Stacey has the stones to defend her thunder."

"Stacey absolutely wiping the floor with Densy [clapping hand emojis] #LooseWomen," added a second.

A third typed: "What a shame Stacey is stepping back from TV, she's the only redeeming feature of #LooseWomen."

Loose Women airs weekdays from 12.30pm on ITV and ITVX.