Sherrie Hewson, 75, has said she barely recognises Loose Women anymore.
The actress and television personality spent more than 10 years as a regular panellist on the ITV lunchtime programme before departing in 2016, though she has made occasional guest appearances since.
The show has been transformed significantly in recent times.
Both Denise Welch and Nadia Sawalha are among the prominent figures who have left the panel.
Production has been scaled back dramatically, with the programme now airing for only 30 weeks annually rather than year-round.
The live studio audience has also been scrapped as part of efforts to reduce costs.
“Loose Women in my day was extraordinary, because we didn’t have the problems we have now where you can’t say that,” Ms Hewson reflected.
She recalled the fierce on-air clashes she used to have with Janet Street-Porter, describing them as genuine disagreements.
“We had the most, I had unbelievable rows with Janet Street-Porter, but they were real rows. We were still friends afterwards and went out to dinner.
“You don’t see that anymore, but because we had the freedom to do it, it was a very different day,” she said.
The panellists would gather at eight in the morning for production meetings, arriving with strong views that producers would sometimes question.
“Now it’s a very different show, because obviously you’ve got to be very careful, like everything on television now,” she observed.
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“We just said what we thought, and somehow we got away with it!”
The actress counts Coleen Nolan and Carol McGiffin among her closest companions from that era.
“When I had my divorce, they were all wonderful. We were a family then,” she explained.
The panellists were deeply attuned to one another’s lives, she said, always aware when a colleague was struggling with illness or unhappiness.
“We all stuck together and got ourselves through whatever bad times we came up against. We all stuck together and helped each other,” Ms Hewson recalled.
Those bonds of mutual support are what she treasures most from her time on the programme.
“That’s what I took from that, and what I remember. It was a brilliant time, and I loved the show very much,” she said.
When Loose Women first launched in 1999, it was a groundbreaking concept, placing women at the forefront of daytime television in what was overwhelmingly a male-dominated landscape.
“Women didn’t really have a voice then… You were expected to put up and shut up,” Ms Hewson reflected.
Despite her nostalgia for the programme’s earlier incarnation, she is enthusiastic about the broader progress women have made in the years since.
“Now, women have a very strong voice. You know, they are a powerhouse… they have a really good, strong voice, and can stand up for themselves,” she said.
“And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think that’s a good thing.”
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