Andrea McLean has made a name for herself as an amazing TV presenter and an irreplaceable member of the Loose Women family, and she celebrated turning 50 on Saturday by throwing an all-out party at the Langham Hotel on Thursday night. The newly turned 50-year-old opened up about her amazing day, where she was surrounded by celebrity friends and family, and revealed her plans for the next decade.
Andrea celebrated turning 50
Chatting to HELLO! about her Caribbean-themed birthday party, complete with a gorgeous Vegan cake created by GC Couture, and decorations by fellow Loose Women panellist Stacey Solomon's very own sister, Jemma, Andrea said: "I wanted to recreate that school disco feeling where you turn up and you know all of your mates there, all your favourite songs playing and it's just dancing all night," she explained. "I grew up in the Trinidad and Tobago, but I'm Scottish so I wanted that mix - we decorated with flags of the Caribbean, Scottish flags and the vibe was very Caribbean and breezy. I wanted everyone to walk in and go, 'Wow!. This is amazing!'" Chatting about her incredible cake, she joked: "We always have cakes at the Loose Women studio and I can't eat them because I've got a dairy intolerance so this is amazing - I can eat them all!"
Andrea snacked on vegan cake at the party
Praising Stacey's sister, she added: "Jemma’s amazing. She came up with the idea of a great big lit up 50 with an arch around it, a Polaroid flower wall, balloon flower arches and what I love is that it's Stacey's sister so we know her and she's lovely." During the glamorous evening, Andrea was joined by a slew of high profile guests including Gloria Hunniford and Brenda Edwards, This Morning's Dr Ranj and Dr Zoe, Michelle Heaton, Liz Earle, Karen Millen, Keith Lemon and his wife, Jill Carter.
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Andrea was surrounded by friends for her special day
The guests snacked on amazing canapes, including whisky cured salmon with crisp potato, tuna tataki and crisp prawn ‘papillotte’, Gloria praised the lovely evening, saying: "I love Andrea, I'm so happy to be here to celebrate her 50th. What a beautiful setting, I love the Langham, I host a lot of my own events here," while Dr Ranj added: "Andrea just has such amazing energy, I love being around her so I'm just happy she invited me here!"Andrea also revealed that she sees turning 50 as a time to reflect, and opened up about her career and future plans. "It's a real time to sort of reflect and you think, 'Right I'm kind of cresting the hill now, statistically – unless I live to 100 – statistically the next bit is going to be shorter than this bit, so that's just how it is, and I think it makes you stop and evaluate and think," she explained. "Am I where I want to be? Am I happy in what I'm doing? Am I being as brave as I could be? I think that's why it's such a brilliant age to celebrate and take stock of everything and say thank you to everyone who's come along the ride with me."
Andrea poses in front of a stunning 50 light by Rio Lounge
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For Andrea and her husband Nick Feeney, turning older might even mean a move away from home, as she revealed that she visited LA for work earlier this year. She said: "Nick and I had an amazing trip to LA… We spent some time out there and had some really interesting meetings. We're looking to expand the website and make it global and as I get older, I'm a lot less frightened of putting myself out there in case I fail. What I realise now if you don't try then really you're kind of failing anyway."
Andrea with her husband, Nick
Speaking about her husband's unwavering support, she continued: "Last Valentine's Day he had a quote made up for the wall, 'What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?' I mean a lot of how I'm feeling now is to do with him. I've got someone in my life who's championing me and going, 'You're amazing why don't you give it a go, what's the worst that could happen?' He’s an incredible support."
For a full photo album of the evening pick up the new issue of HELLO! out now