Gloria Hunniford clashes with Loose Women colleague Denise Welch over Covid rules

Loose Women panelists Gloria Hunniford and Denise Welch clashed in a heated debate on Tuesday over lockdown restrictions.

he veteran Northern Irish presenter and the Hollyoaks actress were discussing the government’s handling of Covid rules when the conversation quickly escalated into a fiery row.

Outspoken Welch, who has used her social media platforms to call out the government’s “hypocrisy”, was furious at the news that more than 2,000 UEFA VIPs may be allowed to attend the Euro 2020 final at Wembley without having to quarantine.

The row started when Welch raged at what she called the “carnival” of the Thursday night Clap for Carers, claiming people had been allowed to line Westminster Bridge without social distancing. She referred to the case of a woman whose husband of 60 years had died during the pandemic and whose sons were threatened with arrest for trying to comfort her at his funeral.

“I could not stand the fact that this was going on,” said an angry Welch, before telling the panel that her own dad had been forced to travel to hospital alone in an ambulance, despite having had both vaccinations.

“That day, I am looking at the football crowds outside, who have been able to gather in London, and I'm not allowed — double jabbed myself — my father double jabbed, the paramedics double jabbed, and I am not allowed to travel in an ambulance while this is going on with my father,” she said.

Hunniford said she wanted to pick Welch up on a few things, stating: “I don't believe the NHS had a carnival every time they came to clap outside.” But as she continued to talk, Welch tried to interrupt her. The Portadown woman, however, stood her ground and defended the role of the NHS. Welch interjected again and said she wasn’t criticising the NHS but the government.

As the show’s anchor Ruth Langsford attempted to calm the debate down, Welch continued to fume about not being allowed to go to Croatia to visit her son. She was supported by fellow panelist Carol McGiffin who said that if the government went ahead and allowed the football VIPs into the country without having to quarantine, it would “expose the contempt” it had for the public.

At various stages during the debate, Hunniford had to ask Welch to let her finish what she was saying. Things became even more heated when Hunniford referred to the Delta variant and the increasing numbers of new cases. Welch retorted that there had been no escalation in deaths and furiously denied Hunniford’s claims that she was ignoring the statistics.

The row rumbled on with Welch continuing to clash with Hunniford until she said: “We’ll agree to disagree Gloria because I respect your opinions.”

Afterwards, viewers took to Twitter to comment on the row. One viewer posted: “Please let Gloria speak”, while another wrote: “I totally get what Denise Welch is saying but for God’s sake, please teach her some manners.”

However, Welch’s views were supported by many fans of the show. One posted: “Ooooh #loosewomen is fiery this afternoon. I’m with Denise, double standards everywhere. Gloria is out of touch.”