Loose Women’s Andrea McLean admits to secret breakdown last year

Loose Women’s Andrea McLean has opened up about suffering a secret breakdown last year.

Andrea McLean admitted to her secret breakdown in a candid interview with HELLO! (opens in new tab), revealing that she opens up about the difficult time in her life in her new self-help book This Girl Is on Fire: How to Live, Learn and Thrive in a Life You Love.

Revealing how her Loose Women co-stars responded to her experience, Andrea said that reactions were “mixed”, explaining, “obviously remember this is work, so some people still don't know what to make of it but the ones that count have stepped forward and that's been really nice. They've got in touch, and messaged me and rang me, and we've spoken about it.”

Singling out certain co-stars, Andrea McLean continued, "Saira Khan, for example, was incredible. She rang me and said, 'I feel like I wasn't a good friend to you because I didn't push you hard enough. I asked how you were and you said you were fine and I never asked you again and actually, I feel like I've let you down. So what can I do to make it up to you and how can I pass on what you're saying to me?'

"These are people who, you work together day in day out, but you wouldn't necessarily bring your problems to work,” she went on. “So that's how I see it. And also I'm really good at hiding it. There were signs there and people missed them."

It comes after Andrea revealed that she went through some difficult times last year, admitting that at her lowest point she found herself in a hotel room experiencing suicidal thoughts (opens in new tab).

Highlighting some of her other co-stars who have supported her through the hard times, Andrea continued, "Denise Welch has been wonderful, Linda Robson has been wonderful.

"Everyone's different and by naming some and not naming others, that doesn't mean anything,” she went on. “I'm just saying the ones off the top of my head. But that's normal in a friendship group. Some people are embarrassed and just don't know what to say, and that's normal too."

Speaking about how she feels like she’s come out the other side now, Andrea continued, "I'm back to where I used to be. It's not like I've discovered some kind of new me, I'm just how I used to be and it feels really nice, it feels really good.

“It's not like all of a sudden everything's euphoric and you're running around and everything's awesome like the Lego movie. I just feel content. Contentment is a great goal. I look forward to small things. Watching Good Girls on Netflix, on my phone, in the hot tub, is my favourite thing in the world."