'There was a drawback...' Lisa Maxwell reveals big impact Loose Women had on her acting career
Lisa Maxwell has shared how Loose Women impacted her acting career after she left the ITV1 daytime talk show in 2014 after five years.
Lisa Maxwell says her Loose Women job resulted in her not being taken seriously as an actress.
The 61-year-old star made the decision to grow out her blonde locks after she left the ITV1 daytime talk show in 2014 after five years, so that people would not recognise her as being a former panellist and judge her on her audition and talent alone.
Lisa told the new issue of Yours magazine: "I loved them but there was a drawback: you were appearing as yourself, which made it difficult for people to then accept you as a character in a drama.
"When I left, I deliberately grew my hair long so I wouldn't look like me anymore."
She previously said her decision to leave Loose Women in 2014 was because the show became "more serious" and stopped being fun.
Lisa added: "It wasn't the same show anymore."
Lisa is best known for playing Detective Inspector Samantha Nixon in ITV's The Bill from 2002 until 2009, and Lisa still gets mistaken for her character when she is out in public.
She recalled: "I got lost the other day looking for where I was meant to be rehearsing.
"So, I stopped and asked directions from a man who said, 'Oh, hello, Sam, I'll show you the way.'
"I left in 2009, but still he referred to me by my character's name."
And Lisa loves that her former alter ego is still remembered by the public after all these years.
She added: "I'm not complaining.
"I was so lucky to be a part of that show."
Lisa - who has 25-year-old daughter Beau with her husband Paul Jessup - is still in touch with most of the cast members who regularly appeared in the ITV British police procedural series - which followed the lives of police officers at the fictional Sun Hill Police Station as they tackled crime on London's streets.
She continued: "There are about 30 of us who were regulars in it and we're still in touch with each other.
"It has a very special place in my heart.
"We worked six days a week, 14-hour days. It was all-consuming. It was great training; it was great for profile. But there was no room for anytime else."
