ITV Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha has paid a touching tribute to her best friend Hannah Gardner, who tragically passed away at the age of 39 after battling stage four incurable breast cancer.

Nadia posted a photo of Hannah, resplendent in a sparkly dress on a swing, with the poignant caption: "Rest in peace now darling".

She continued: "Our beautiful Hannah... Although we knew it was coming we are all so deeply shocked and distraught. No need to be brave anymore darling you can now rest in peace, and all the love you created. You were and will forever be deeply loved... To all the staff at The Princess Alice Hospice in Esher, the kindness and care you showed not only to Hannah, but also to her friends and family was extraordinary. Thank you. #fabfourfoever."

Mark Adderley, Nadia's husband, also expressed his grief: "Just so so heartbreaking - a beautiful woman - a beautiful friend - a beautiful mother - just can't believe it", reports the Mirror.

The comments section was awash with condolences, with one person writing: "Beautiful Han. She loved you all so much Nadia. What a woman. She will be so missed", while another added: "So so sorry to hear this news"

A third wrote: "So sorry for your loss.. it's too sad but so glad she's not in pain. Love and hugs".

Prior to her death, Nadia and Hannah were left 'reeling' when they discovered that a groundbreaking cancer drug had been blocked for use in England by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

The institute concluded that the price the NHS was being asked to pay for the medication was 'too high', despite its potential to extend Hannah's life by a further six months.

Speaking about the drug to The Daily Mail, Nadia said: "We've got this young woman, with a young autistic child, with secondary breast cancer in her liver, in her lung, and she's also supposed to be basically begging for this drug. And it just seems brutal."

Nadia continued: "She's a powerhouse and I do worry about that because she needs to also be looking after herself, but we've got her, you know, me and our group of friends are very engaged and there for in every way.

"We're a group of friends, we all met on a trek raising money for breast cancer, about seven years ago, there's four of us, we call ourselves the Fab Four and we say we're holding you... She's the youngest one in the group and she was diagnosed 11 years ago and she's been on such a wheel, she's been told that she's had cancer four times and she never falters."

Hannah received her initial breast cancer diagnosis in 2013 following the discovery of a lump in her left breast. Despite undergoing treatment, the illness returned in 2017 and once more in 2020.

In 2022, Hannah learnt she had stage four incurable breast cancer, which subsequently metastasised to her liver.

Last year, Hannah took to social media to share her devastating news: "I've been hit with probably the worst news I've had yet. Progression. All tumours in my liver are growing. There are now four big ones with lots of little spots popping up. I'm scared, I can't lie."

In 2024, Hannah joined her friend Nadia on ITV's Loose Women to advocate for NHS approval of a particular drug. She confessed at the time: "I don't know how long I've got, some statistics two to four years, some say three to five, I am 3 years in and it's scary. It's not a fairy tale, it only ends one way. All we can have is extra time and this drug would have given me that, more time with my daughter.

"Six months might not sound like a long time, but it is in the world of secondary breast cancer," she further added.

Loose Women is on ITV1 and ITVX