Andrea McLean has said she received complaints about her being “too fat” for TV.
The Loose Women presenter revealed that viewers would call ITV to lodge complaints about her size.
McLean told fellow panellists that while presenting the weather for GMTV, she unsettled audiences when she was heavily pregnant.
She said: “Because it was before the days of social media, if people wanted to complain about you they literally ring the show or write in.
“I used to hear the lady answering the phone to people complaining about me, and wanting me taken off air because they said I was too fat and too big. It really was a thing.
“They were like, ‘Why is she on air? She’s so big she’s blocking out Cornwall’.”
McLean has said that her time at GMTV was very happy, and the staff were like family to her.
'They ripped up all of my artwork. They would threaten me and follow me home.' Our @andrea_mclean opens up about the terrible bullying she endured at school.
We admire her positive outlook, as she adds, 'It's all been alright, I'm here.' 🙌 pic.twitter.com/kQsSAZUVNx
— Loose Women (@loosewomen) August 27, 2019
The presenter revealed that during the split from her first husband she began to cry ahead of a broadcast, but a member of the make-up team comforted her.
Speaking on Loose Women, she said: “He was putting foundation on and the tears were literally running down here.
“He would mop it up, put more foundation on. At the end he just kind of squeezed my shoulders.”
McClean was quizzed by her fellow panellists as they turned the tables on her usually leading the questioning.