Coleen Nolan has claimed she was branded 'too ugly, fat and old' to front primetime television by cruel bosses.
Despite a wealth of experience on Loose Women and success on reality shows including Celebrity Big Brother, Coleen admits she's felt producers have overlooked her on big jobs.
Speaking on author Melanie Blake's Girl Talk YouTube series, Coleen admitted: "They [TV bosses] still can't see past the age and whatever size I am at the time."
The 56-year-old said she'd been heartbreakingly told: ''You're so ugly, so fat and so old" after being rejected for roles.
Confirming she was not talking about Loose Women bosses, Coleen continued: "I think that's the tragedy really, I am very lucky that Loose Women, whether you're a fan or not, it's the only show on telly that has women of all ages, all sizes, all colour.
"Outside of that, because sometimes people go ''it's obviously not sexist because you're on telly every day'' – yeah but from half 12 to half 1.
"But name anyone my age in primetime co-hosting a show, you just don't see it and I think that's really sad," she mused.
Coleen has been a staple on Loose Women since 2000 and is renowned by fans for her no holds-barred chat and sense of humour.
Coleen said her decades in the industry have been overlooked by producers who judge women unfairly.
The TV star said it was unfair that women over a certain age were turned down for jobs while while male presenters didn't have to endure the same judgement. Speaking on A Girls Night In podcast this month, Coleen said: "I have had a head of a big TV company saying: "If you want to get in prime time television you should get a gastric band, you're too big to present prime time.
"I've had: 'Oh, you're getting on a bit now, so maybe you're not right for prime time.' And yet you see all these guys in prime time, some overweight, some certainly in their 60s and 70s."
Coleen, who has been a size 10 at her slimmest, previously opened up to the Mirror in 2011 about being asked to undergo a gastric band procedure by an unnamed TV producer.
Coleen said: " 'He just said: "I wonder what we are going to do about that," all the while he was looking me up and down, nodding we'd have to do something about my weight. Oh my God I was only a size 14, hardly obese!
'Then came the biggest shock. He said: "Well we really like you and we think you'll be great but we have a particular look in mind for the host… everybody's going on about these gastric bands at the moment, why don’t you think about that?'
Coleen added: "I was so angry on the day, but in another way it was good as it was so shocking it gave me confidence to say no to that sort of c***."
