Saira Khan says she had 'outgrown' role on 'Loose Women' before departure

Former Loose Women regular Saira Khan has confessed she used to "just tolerate" some of her fellow panellists and felt she had "outgrown the programme".

The 51-year-old former contestant on The Apprentice left the daytime talk show earlier this year, having been a regular since 2015.

Read more: Khan sent threats after revealing she's not a practising Muslim

Khan confessed in an interview with The Mirror that a "mixture of things" contributed to her decision to walk away from the role and focus on her skincare business.

She said: "Firstly, I’d outgrown the programme. There were some women that I just thought: 'I’ve got to just tolerate you to do the job and in real life you wouldn’t be my friend'. They’d say the same about me.

Watch: Saira Khan tells Loose Women panel she only showers twice a week

"Plus, I shared a lot about myself on that show — my abuse, adoption, arranged marriage and a lot of relationship stuff. You don’t get a lot of thanks for that.

"My family hasn’t asked to be related to someone famous but I felt like I was putting them into a precarious situation."

Read more: Khan reveals struggles with depression after The Apprentice

Khan has previously confessed she never felt like she was "part of the sisterhood" during her time on the Loose Women panel.

She has also said she wanted her seat on the show's rotating roster of panellists to go to a member of the LGBT+ community.

Khan said she experienced "horrendous" trolling after discussing contentious issues with her fellow cast members, which contributed to an environment that was "toxic for women".

She added: "When you turn up to a job where your heart’s not in it, you come home and you just feel s*** about yourself and about what you’ve said. The only thing you can do is make a change."

Read more: Katie Piper excited to join Loose Women panel

The star confessed it was a "scary decision" to walk away from such a popular show, but her social media trolling has mostly diminished since her departure.

She revealed she remains close friends with some of her colleagues from the programme, including Coleen Nolan, Ruth Langsford, Linda Robson and Christine Lampard.

Khan said she has been able to do more work on other shows, including Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, as well as continuing to grow her business.

She recently denied claims she was suing the makers of Who Dares Wins after she sustained physical scarring during the filming of the show.

Read more: Ant Middleton criticises UK version of SAS: Who Dares Wins

The star said that some of the most popular shows on British TV are on her bucket list, and she'd love to do Strictly Come Dancing and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in the future.

She has already taken part in Dancing On Ice, competing with pro partner Mark Hanretty in the 2019 series, and entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2016.

Watch: Jenny Eclair discusses being sacked from Loose Women