Entertainment

Vernon Kay to lead all-male Loose Women panel for International Men’s Day

The show will bring back the celebration for a second year.
The show will bring back the celebration for a second year. The show will bring back the celebration for a second year.

Vernon Kay will be joined by rugby player Mike Tindall, TV star Ore Oduba and comedian Iain Stirling for a special episode of Loose Women to celebrate International Men’s Day.

The all-male panel on the show, dubbed Loose Men, will discuss the importance of men speaking about their mental health.

National Lottery Awards 2018 – London
National Lottery Awards 2018 – London Ore Oduba (Ian West/PA)

The quartet will also be joined by model David Gandy as the episode supports Loose Women’s Stand By Your Men campaign.

Stirling was part of the first ever Loose Men panel in the show’s 22-year history last year.

He said: “It’s a genuine honour to be back on the ‘Loose Men’ panel. Last time, it felt like we made something really important.

National Television Awards 2021 – London
National Television Awards 2021 – London Iain Stirling (Ian West/PA)

“The rest of the panel are legends – I’m hoping to get in their Insta stories as it will do wonders for my ‘engagement’, which to this day I still don’t know what that is.

“Men’s mental health is important because it affects us all and isn’t necessarily clearly visible.

“So, to get any sort of help you need to articulate what’s wrong. And for many that vocabulary still isn’t regularly used or available.

“This show can go some way to helping that.”

Tindall,  who is married to the Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Tindall, added: “I am looking forward to being on Loose Men, talking about some really important issues facing men.

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Mike Tindall (Steve Parsons/PA)

“Being a rugby player from the north, I think I would probably have a reputation as being strong and just getting on with it, but that doesn’t always work and all of us need to talk about things. This is a great chance to do that.”

Loose Women’s editor Sally Shelford said: “Last year we were bowled over by the huge response from viewers to our first ever Loose Men to mark International Men’s Day.

“Hearing from some of the UK’s most famous faces opening up about mental health, bullying and body shaming, kick-started so many important conversations. We simply had to do it again.

“This year’s amazing ‘Loose Men’ line up of Vernon, Iain, Mike and Ore promises to shine a light on even more topics affecting men today – from ageing to relationships and fatherhood, expect eye-opening conversations and lots of laughs along the way.”

Loose Men will air on ITV at 12.30pm on Friday.