'I Feel Strong Inside And Out!'

Loose Women presenter Andrea McLean talks to Jo Willacy about the importance of exercise in her life, why she wants to set an example to her kids and why wine is not off the menu…

- Andrea McLean

Andrea McLean arrives at our photoshoot straight from the Loose Women studio. Looking tanned and healthy, she only flew home from a family holiday in Greece 24 hours earlier. It’s been a roller-coaster year for the 48-year-old presenter – the high of her surprise engagement to her partner, Nick, preceded by the low of her hysterectomy and a difficult recovery. But, looking at her now, lifting weights at our shoot, you’d never guess that in January this year she had to go right back to basics with her exercise regime following her recuperation.

‘My body has gone through this huge shock’

‘I’d lost all my strength so I had to start very gently. I was lunging from one side of the room to the other, stopping, gasping for breath and hanging on to the wall. I took two months off exercise and found it frustrating and depressing – I hadn’t realised how important exercise was to me mentally,’ reveals Andrea. ‘My body had gone through this huge shock. Everything I’d feared would happen happened – I fell off a cliff in terms of hormones – and just when I needed something that would release endorphins, I couldn’t do anything. So being able to come back to that really saved me. Slow, steady weight training worked best. I had to build up very gently after the op. But actually I think women of my age are fitter than younger women because we’re doing it sensibly. You’re focusing on the inside and the bonus is that the outside looks good.’

‘I like having good arms’