Loose Women star Christine Lampard paid a touching tribute to her ‘courageous’ colleague.

Loose Women’s Christine Lampard opened the show with a heartfelt tribute to a fellow ITV star who received a special honour after bravely opening up about domestic abuse.

During Wednesday’s (December 10) episode of the  ITV hit chat show, Christine was joined by panelists Coleen Nolan, Myleene Klass and Jane Moore as they discussed the day’s trending topics.

However before diving straight into the show, Christine shared a sweet message to ITV Cymru Wales weather presenter Ruth Dodsworth, who has received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) from the King for services to survivors of domestic abuse.

King Charles presented her with the honour at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, 9 December. The broadcaster endured almost a decade of coercive control from her ex-husband, who was jailed in 2021 for three years for stalking and coercive control.

Sharing the news with viewers and the live studio audience, Christine said: “Firstly we are starting the show with a huge congratulations to ITV weather presenter Ruth Dodsworth, who received an OBE from the king yesterday for her services to victims and survivors of domestic abuse.”

Christine Lampard opened the show with a heartfelt tribute (Image: ITV)

Turning her attention to Jane, she continued: “She is an incredible woman. Jane, you spent a bit of time with her just last month.”

Jane explained: “I spent a lovely afternoon with her and she is an amazingly brave woman. She went through hell and back with an ex and she now very bravely talks about it a lot to help other women.

“I think a lot of the time people who are in these situations sort of thing this is a thing I have to bare alone and if they see someone with a public platform talking about it sometimes it just pushes through and they go, ‘Omg this is a thing, I should not have to put up with this.’”

She went on: “I think Ruth’s work and speaking out has been very, very important so it is very well deserved.” Christine added: “Huge congratulations to her.”

Ruth has since become a vocal campaigner for domestic abuse survivors, working closely with several domestic abuse charities to encourage other survivors to come forward.

Ruth has received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) from the King (Image: Mark Lewis)

Speaking after being awarded the honour in the King’s Birthday Honours list, Ruth said: “It feels all a bit surreal and completely unbelievable, and I’m over the moon. It’s just the biggest honour I think I have ever had in my entire life.

“This is not just for me this is for my family, my friends and everybody who has been on this very strange journey that I’ve been on, everybody who has supported me.

“And this is for everybody who is going on journeys of their own as well because it’s not easy and domestic abuse is out there and it’s everywhere.

“That’s why this honour is also so important because it allows me to keep that conversation going. I’m going to use it wisely and then hopefully one day we won’t have to talk about domestic abuse because it won’t be an issue anymore. But until that point, this honour is for everybody who has been affected by domestic abuse and I’m just so proud.”

Loose Women airs weekdays from 12:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX