Denise Welch breaks silence on Meghan row after 'utterly pathetic' Ofcom complaints

Denise Welch has doubled down on her support for Meghan Markle as the royal continues her tour of Nigeria with Prince Harry.

The 65 year old sparked a divide after being hit with 103 Ofcom complaints following a row between the panellist and former press secretary Dickie Arbiter over his criticism of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The outrage followed a debate between Denise and Dickie where the former fiercely stood up for Meghan during a live broadcast. The former press secretary had been on air discussing the monarch's cancer battle.

When he turned his attention to the strained relationship between King Charles and Prince Harry, Denise jumped in to defend the couple's decision to leave the Royal Family.

Taking to Instagram today (May 12), the ITV favourite shared a photo of Meghan alongside Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, where the pair beamed at each other.

Denise told her 422,000 followers: "Last week I defended them against one of their detractors on tv and received 103 complaints from Ofcom!!! Good. Also utterly pathetic."

She also shared: "Meghan Markle has been a spokeswoman for women of colour and gender equality since she was 11 yrs old. She has held a place on the world stage for years before she met Harry as a UN women's advocate."(sic)

Denise added she is "appalled" at the criticism the Duchess of Sussex has received and claimed it's "no wonder her husband took her away and despite everything they are thriving".

The Loose Women star added: "Their reception in Nigeria has been wonderful to see."

Social media users flocked to comment on the post as Mark Hanretty penned: "Well said Denise!!!!! More love no hate."

"Well done Denise and thank you. Harry and Meghan did nothing wrong and they have every right to share their story," another penned.

Others disagreed as a third wrote: "You're entitled to your opinion," while another added: "Sorry Denise totally disagree with you."

During the on-air debate on Loose Women, Denise fumed: "If I may say, do you not think there is a reason why Harry did such a thing?" She then shared her views about everything the couple have been through and the scrutiny they have come under.

She told Dickie: "Then he has a wife who is completely and continually trashed by the media, including your good self.

"I am just sick to death of the bashing that this woman gets (...) we continually berate this woman every day," she concluded. Although she was cheered on by some audience members, the debate sparked a flurry of complaints.

Host Coleen Nolan tried to stop the situation from escalating, reminding Denise she hadn't expected a "debate" to take place in the studio as Dickie told her she may have been reading "too many tabloids", leading her to insist for him to not "disrespect her".

Meghan and Harry arrived in Lagos for the final day of their Nigerian tour. The Sussexes were greeted with a traditional dance as they stepped off their flight. The couple watched the performance from a red carpet and were seen clapping along.

Meanwhile, Director-General Ngozi shared a series of photos of her time spent with the Sussexes, writing on X: "A wonderful afternoon with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their trip in Abuja, Nigeria. Happy to share with Meghan, the Duchess the warmth and friendly embrace of Nigerians. At our meeting with leading Nigerian women, ably moderated by the one and only @MoAbudu, she was showered with names - Ifeoma (a beautiful and good person), Omowale (a child has come home) and Edidiong (blessing)."