Loose Women’s Coleen Nolan reveals devastating abuse her sister suffered by the hands of their dad – and why she nonetheless wrestles with guilt at the moment

Loose Women‘s Coleen Nolan opened up about the devastating abuse her sister suffered at the hands of their dad – and why she still wrestles with guilt today while on Tuesday’s episode of the ITV programme. 

The 60 year old returned to the show alongside Kaye Adams, 63, Lisa Riley, 49, and Janet Street Porter, 79, to discuss the latest news and headlines. 

At the start of the episode, the panel discussed ITV co-star Lorraine Kelly‘s interview with Gisèle Pelicot, 73, which aired on Tuesday morning. 

Gisèle revealed the heart-wrenching questions she has for her husband to the Scottish presenter after he ‘destroyed their family’ with his monstrous sexual assaults on her.

This led Coleen to open up about her own experience within her family. 

Coleen told the panel: ‘When I got later into my 20s, I found out things about my dad and what had gone on there. I won’t go into specifics, but things had happened. 

‘The shock of it for one thing, and also, like you said, and you just said, the way it effects everyone so differently, and it splinters out…

‘What I love about Gisèle, A) her strength, and also she is so protective of her daughter, even though by the sounds of it, they have had some kind of falling out, she’s protecting her. 

‘That’s what you do as a parent. That’s what you do as a child, you start protecting each other.’

She continued: ‘There was so many things that happened, and what you do forget about, is how it does effect the people outside of who it happened to. 

‘So for me, what was astonishing for me, it was finding out things that had happened, and as a grown child, I had this moment where, you have a moment as a child, it was still your parent and you go, “So he didn’t love me then?” Then I hated myself for thinking that.’

Kaye asked: ‘Because?’ 

Coleen continued: ‘Because nothing happened to me. Like nothing happened to me. There was never a moment with my dad where I felt uncomfortable, where I thought I don’t think this is right. 

‘I had a great relationship with my dad.

‘What happens now is, over the years, is now I feel guilty if I put pictures…

‘I’ve only recently put a picture up of me and my dad and mum from when I was little. I feel I am being disloyal to other members outside of it.’ 

Kaye asked her: ‘Did you doubt if anything had ever happened?’ 

Coleen said: ‘No, funnily enough, there were people that did, that had never seen that side of him outside of the family. 

‘Other family members that lived back in Ireland, there was a lot of “I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it”. 

‘I actually did believe it because I knew it wouldn’t be said unless it was true. 

‘Other things happened, I thought, it’s definitely happened and I would never call anyone a liar that is brave enough to come out and held that in for years and years and years, who actually waited in a way for my dad to pass away before they could come out and say it, because of the guilt they were holding and protecting everyone.’ 

Janet pointed out: ‘What you said that is interesting is that your dad was a wonderful dad…

‘What Gisèle has said too, which is problematic, is all of these things went on, but as far as the children were concerned he was a great dad.’ 

Coleen said: ‘It is really hard to say, like I do, I loved my dad, he was a great dad as far as I was concerned. I had issues with him about drink, but other than that, he was great.

‘But you feel guilty saying it.’ 

When asked if they discuss her dad, Coleen explained: ‘We don’t really do that. I’ve just noticed things. There’s no posts put up about my dad like there is about my mum on her birthday, or memories.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any about my dad. I don’t, because I don’t want to disrespect anyone hurt by that.

‘But it’s hard because I am still the baby of the family and I didn’t experience that and I loved him.’

Kaye asked if it has changed her feelings about her father, to which Coleen said: ‘I hate what my dad did. 

‘I feel guilty by saying I loved my dad and I had a great time with my dad because it makes me feel guilty.

‘Then I feel guilty, why did I? And also, by saying that am I being disrespectful to the ones that didn’t? It’s such a mind field of emotions. 

‘That’s why when I saw that interview I could really relate to it because it’s just this whole splintering. But it can work out. But it’s not going to work out instantly.

‘It can take years for you to come back together and find a middle ground of what you can feel and what you can say.’ 

Coleen spoke about the sexual assault her sister Anne suffered at the hands of their father on the show back in 2018. 

Tommy Nolan, who died in 1998, sexually abused Anne, and was violent towards the sisters and their late mother while he was alive.

She revealed Anne’s regrets at not confronting him before he died because she wanted to protect their family.

Coleen said at the time that her sister felt like Tommy had ‘gotten away with it’ because he never had to face up to what he did to her.

Coleen, along with her sisters and mother, was badly beaten on a regular basis from an early age by singer Tommy. 

She found out in her 20s that he had assaulted Anne, though the older sister didn’t confront him on his deathbed through fear of upsetting his family. 

Coleen said: ‘It’s been well-documented about my dad and my elder sister and abuse, she never, ever confronted my dad while he was alive and I think that was to protect his family, my mother, who was still alive at the time. 

‘For me, there was so much anger when he died, there was more anger when he died than when he was alive. She felt like he got away with it. 

‘I think she should have, even when he was ill, said ”I’ll always remember what you did and I won’t forgive you,” and that would have released her pain.’

After the family moved from Dublin to Blackpool in 1962 Tommy began to abuse Anne.

She was kept off school for months due to an illness so it was just her, her father and her little sister Bernadette, one.

In the first instance Anne recalled how Tommy had put his hands between her legs when he pulled her on his knee, and then it became a regular occurrence while her mother was at work

In 2008 she wrote of the effect the abuse had on her life, saying: ‘My father may have invaded my body, but he also invaded my mind.

‘I’m now in my late 50s, and yet, to this day, no recollection of my childhood can ever be carefree. 

‘It has a contaminating effect that seeps into every corner of your mind, every facet of your life. It doesn’t go away, and the slate can never be wiped clean.’