Nadia Sawalha has threatened to take legal action against ITV, claiming she was removed from Loose Women due to her public support for Palestinian rights.
Ms Sawalha began speaking out in support of Palestine in December 2023, following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent military response in Gaza.
She alleges that her public statements led to "the target of an escalating campaign of smears, complaints, hostile media coverage and targeted calls to have me removed from Loose Women".
In an Instagram video, she said: "Since then, ITV have taken me on and off Loose Women a number of times."
Nadia Sawalha claims ITV were 'forever changing the goalposts'
A group of Jewish executives in the entertainment industry sent a dossier to ITV urging the network not to reinstate Ms Sawalha, citing "repeated examples of conspiratorial rhetoric, inflammatory commentary, disinformation, and antisemitic discourse."
Ms Sawalha said she has not seen the document and denied any antisemitism, BBC News reports.
She claims ITV has told her that the reason for her removal was because "It's all a bit noisy out there for us".
In the video, she said: "ITV have continued to take me on and off Loose Women, forever changing the goalposts whilst also saying they couldn't guarantee they wouldn't take me off again as it would depend on what was said.
"I was hired for being an opinionated woman on a discussion show and I've never brought up or spoken about Palestine directly on the show."
She added: "I want to say how sad I am that it's got to this – believe me, I have appealed to ITV's hearts and minds, but to no avail."
The European Legal Support Center (ELSC), which supports pro-Palestinian cases, has sent a pre-action letter to ITV on her behalf, alleging she was discriminated against because of her "anti-Zionist beliefs, which are protected under the Equality Act 2010".
The letter claims she was subjected to "direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment because of her protected philosophical beliefs".
Ms Sawalha has been a regular panellist on Loose Women since 2013, and previously appeared on the show from 1999 to 2002.
She is known for her earlier role as Annie Palmer in EastEnders and has also appeared in Casualty and The Bill.
She is a former winner of Celebrity MasterChef.
Two newspapers that previously accused her and her husband of antisemitism and supporting terrorism have since issued apologies and paid damages.
Newsquest has contacted ITV for comment.
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