Loose Women's Charlene White was overcome with emotion as she hosted a "very special" episode as the show marked one year since the launch of their domestic abuse campaign Facing It Together.

The stars of the daytime programme aired their own individual situations as well as speaking to victims in hope of changing the stark statistics. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated in March 2024 that 1.6 million women experienced domestic abuse.

Charlene was joined on Monday's (March 17) show by Jane Moore and Denise Welch and Kéllé Bryan.

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Both Kéllé and Denise were willing to share their own harrowing ordeals with viewers and audience members. Before handing over to former star Denise, Charlene wanted to air her own praises for her and Kéllé for bravely coming forward in hope of helping the cause.

She aired: "One thing I do want to say about the ladies that work on this programme when they talk about their own personal experiences, it's not easy.

"It's quite a difficult thing to do but it is something that they want to do in order to be able to change those patterns and hopefully stop other people going through the things that they have been through."

Through tears, Charlene stated: "Don't underestimate that by telling their story that it's an easy thing for them, it's not and it's a really difficult thing for them to do and the women are going to be talking about their stories, here this afternoon."

Reinforcing the message with significant emotion, the host added: "It will again be difficult for them to talk about but I am very proud of them for doing that because we'll never stop using out platform to talk about issues."

Denise bravely opened up about her own experience, telling the panel: "I was in a relationship that was coercive control and not physical abuse. It was coercive and the difference is you can't see the bruises."

The former soap star revealed that she had been in a relationship before husbands Lincoln Townley and Tim Healy, she explained: "He started to chip chip away at my personality.

"He told me 'your friends aren't laughing with you, they're laughing at you'," as she recounted a situation "tipped" the table in a restaurant after she'd smiled at a couple walking in.

Eternal singer Kéllé also showed bravery talking through emotion about a number of frightful situations where she was physically restrained by her wrists.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the programme Jane Moore could be seen with tears streaming from her face as she outlined the programmes producers had contacted the Home Office with their findings from their very own campaign.

Anyone affected by Domestic Abuse can call the helpline 0808 2000 247 but anyone in immediate danger needs to phone 999.

Loose Women airs weekdays on ITV1, from 12:30pm