Loose Women panellist Denise Welch revealed on the show on Wednesday that she and Prince Andrew once met at a gala dinner – and it didn't go as smoothly as she might have hoped. The admission was part of a segment called Have We Lost Our Love for the Royals? which saw Denise discuss the topic with her colleagues Nadia Sawalha, Andrea McClean and former royal correspondent Jane Moore.
WATCH: Denise tells her surprising story here
Denise shared that she and her ex-husband, actor Tim Healy, were among a group of around 20 people invited to a royal gala due to her work as vice president for a charity called The Western Spirit. She said that there was a cricketer sitting opposite her and that Prince Andrew was a couple of seats down.
"Myself and this cricketer, who I won't name, had made a decision not to mention Princess Diana because she had only recently died. I had never met Diana but loved her so much and was mortified when she died, like a lot of people. Anyway, Prince Andrew was very keen to talk about her and he brought it up," the Waterloo Road star said.
Denise has been married to her second husband Lincoln Townley since 2013
She went on: "He started to say things that really, really upset me, that were very to me disrespectful to somebody he shouldn't have been sharing this information with." Denise didn't reveal her response but hinted that it had been an irritable one. "What did you say?" Nadia asked, looking concerned. "Back in the day, I liked a vodka or two, and all I can say is he got up to leave, walked around to the top of the table, put his hand on my then-husband's shoulder and said, 'Rather you than me, sir.'"
MORE: Prince Andrew engagements cancelled following Jeffrey Epstein scandal claims
The audience gasped and Nadia clarified: "Because you'd told him how you felt?" Denise nodded. "I absolutely did tell him how I felt! I was very, very cross."
Make sure you never miss a ROYAL story! Sign up to our newsletter to get all of our celebrity, royal and lifestyle news delivered directly to your inbox.