Janet Street-Porter candidly opened up on Thursday’s Loose Women during a segment called ‘when did you finally admit you needed help’ as part of the show’s Talkathon
LW: Janet Street-Porter on hitting ‘rock bottom’ during 2024
Janet Street-Porter revealed her struggles on Thursday’s episode of Loose Women, as the panel kicked off their inaugural 25-hour Talkathon to support the Britain Get Talking campaign by ITV and STV.
The initiative is designed to break down mental health stigmas while raising crucial funds for Mind, YoungMinds, and Scottish Action for Mental Health helplines and services.
In a segment titled “when did you finally admit you needed help?” Janet, 77, shared her experience prior to her hip operation earlier this year, discussing how she refused to accept help.
She confessed: “With the hip replacement, I was so reluctant and it got to the point where I could hardly walk, I’d come in here and be a complete misery. I was not sleeping, my sleep was down to two or three hours a night.”
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She further explained her reluctance, saying: “Somehow having a knee replacement is more acceptable than a hip replacement, in my head anyway, hip you think: ‘Having a hip replacement, I’ve joined the oldies, that’s it, I’m in the last tiny bit of my life!’ which is ridiculous really.”
Janet also detailed the delay in getting the surgery, despite being advised to do so much earlier: “I was told to have it back in March, I carried on, carried on, and the pain was excruciating.”
Asked why she found it so difficult to ask for help, Janet admitted: “I’m very very proud and very secretive. Although you might think I’m a bit blabbermouth on Loose Women, I’m a bit like an iceberg”, reports the Mirror.
“You’re seeing a pointy bit at the top and there’s two-thirds below ground. That’s the best way of describing what I truly feel. I was absolutely at rock bottom.”
Janet described 2024 as her ‘year of horror’, elaborating: “Unable to walk, I stopped myself going out, I would turn down going to the theatre or the movies because I couldn’t sit all the way through it. I’d be fidgeting around, annoying people.
“I felt like I was self-isolating, which is ridiculous, because Covid was over and there’s no need for that. So I would stay at home and it was absolutely chronic. By the time I had the operation, I was in a bad way and I’ve recovered well.”
However, Janet noted that her battle is still not over and she has to still work at her recovery, especially getting her fitness levels back and in the future she’ll need to have another knee replacement.
Loose Women continues every weekday at 12:30pm on both ITV and ITV X.
