Loose Women presenter Linda Robson is always a barrel of laughs when she appears on the show, but she revealed a health woe made her feel self-conscious around her co-stars.
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Linda, 64, revealed she's felt uncomfortable in her own skin since she was 38 when she began suffering from thread veins. "Since my pregnancy with my third child Bobbie, who is now 26, I became increasingly conscious of the veins on my legs and it really started to gnaw away at my self-esteem," she told The Mirror.
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"I always felt uncomfortable on the beach and by the time I appeared on I'm A Celebrity in 2012, I'd go to crazy lengths to hide them, which didn't do wonders for my self-confidence," Linda continued.
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The star even chose a sarong for her luxury item in the jungle, so viewers wouldn't notice her thread veins.
Explaining why she has thread veins, Linda detailed: "As well as simply being a byproduct of ageing, they can be caused by standing on your feet for too long and since I turned 60 I've climbed Ben Nevis, jumped out of an aeroplane and swum with sharks.
© Photo: RexLinda Robson prefers to cover her legs due to her thread veins
"Having loads of hot baths apparently doesn't help either and I hate showers. I also do a lot of running around cleaning because I've got OCD, so it's no surprise that I've developed [thread veins].”
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It was appearing in Loose Women's ground-breaking Body Stories campaign this year that prompted Linda to seek treatment for her concern.
© Photo: RexLoose Women's Body Stories campaign prompted Linda to seek help
"First I was looking at Kaye Adams, who has the legs of an 18-year-old. Then we all started looking over at Frankie Bridge saying: 'I ain't standing next to her' and I said, 'I don't mean to be rude Frankie, but there's no way I'm being photographed next to you'," Linda said of her insecurities.
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"I felt like a big Oompa Loompa and so much more self-conscious about my body, particularly my veiny legs, than I had the first time we’d shot the Body Stories campaign, before Frankie joined the show."
Linda had four sessions of treatment microsclerotherapy to cure her thread veins, treating around 10 veins by injecting them with the chemical sclerosant, which makes them shrivel up and disappear.
The treatment isn't permanent, but reduces the appearance for several years, and Linda said it felt like a bee sting.
Here's hoping that Linda feels more confident in her own skin now!
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