Katie Piper shares her relief at having her eye sewn shut for a year

What did you miss?

Katie Piper has returned to Loose Women after having her eye sewn shut, and says it will stay closed for a year while she recovers.

The broadcaster has had six weeks away from her role on the ITV chat show after her eye operation, but came back on Wednesday to tell her co-stars how she was adjusting to only being able to see through one eye - and why she feels relieved to have had the procedure.

What, how, and why?

Katie Piper fans will have been missing the TV star from her usual spot on the Loose Women panel over the last six weeks, but on Wednesday she made her return after an operation to sew one eye shut. Piper's eye will stay closed for a year, but she told viewers and her Loose Women co-stars that she felt relieved to have had the procedure done.

Welcoming her back, host Kaye Adams said: "Hello stranger, I think we haven't seen you for five or six weeks." She explained that she had been recovering from the operation, called a tarsorrhaphy, that was "semi-permanent" to keep the eye closed while it recovers.

Piper, who was attacked with acid by an ex-boyfriend in 2008, had previously posted on Instagram about the procedure and explained to fans that the nature of her injuries meant that her recovery would never be over.

She told Loose Women on Wednesday: "I've had quite a lot of problems with my eye in the last year and a half. I don't like to go on about it because there's always somebody worse off. It's been quite painful for me so it's quite a relief to have it stitched shut because it's much more comfortable. It's not permanent, it's going to be about a year and then hopefully I can have it opened."

Gloria Hunniford asked how she had been coping and Piper admitted: "It was a bit like being pregnant because you feel a bit dizzy and nauseous and it's difficult when the other eye is trying to operate because it does tug a bit, but that does subside and then you get used to it. I had the operation a month ago, so I'm ok, I'm still wearing a six-inch high heel." She also added of wearing make-up: "Just the one false lash, which is cheaper."

As her co-stars praised her positive attitude, Piper explained: "I did experience both of my eyes being damaged at a young age, so I always feel really grateful and happy that I'm here seeing all these lovely people and that I'm independent."

One fan commented on X: "Katie Piper_ watched you on today’s Loose Women. You are a complete inspiration." Someone else added: "Just love you Katie..you oooooze positive vibes beautiful inside and out x x x"

What else has been happening on Loose Women?

In Tuesday's show, former Coronation Street star Victoria Ekanoye told why she had taken part in The Real Full Monty this year and shared her experiences of having breast cancer.

Ekanoye had found a lump while breastfeeding her son in 2021 and credited him with saving her life. She said: "I genuinely believe this, I think having Theo saved my life. If I weren't breastfeeding him, I might not have noticed because it pushed the lump to the surface. It got to a point where you could just see it."

The Death In Paradise star added: "It's natural, you've just had a baby, there's so many changes in your body hormonally, you just assume those changes are due to being pregnant or breastfeeding. I wanted so much for that to be the case.

"But I'm the fifth person in my family now to develop breast cancer, the ninth to develop some form of cancer in three generations, and I'm also a patron for Prevent Breast Cancer so I was kidding myself really."

Loose Women airs on ITV at 12.30pm on weekdays.

Read more: Katie Piper

• Katie Piper looks on-trend in stylish khaki cargo trousers (Good Housekeeping, 1 min read)

• Authorities hunt Katie Piper's acid attacker after he was recalled to prison (PA Media, 1 min read)

• Katie Piper shares beautiful snaps from family day in the sunshine (Good Housekeeping, 1 min read)