Denise Welch looks pretty pleased with herself as she enjoys girls' night out at pricey Mayfair restaurant in first sighting since she quit Loose women

Denise Welch looked on top of the world as she enjoyed a dinner date days after quitting ITV's Loose Women after 26 years.

The TV star dressed in a chic all-brown outfit for a night out with friends at Mayfair restaurant Shanghai Me, whose speciality dishes include roast duck with foie gras and caviar for £110 and a £98 sumiyaki wagyu beef kushiyaki.

Last week Denise, 68, shocked fans when she announced that she had decided to step down from Loose Women to focus on her acting work, having been offered a string of roles in recent months.

Denise first appeared on the ITV Daytime show in 2000, before becoming one of its most recognisable faces. Her last appearance was June 29.

In a video on Instagram, Denise shared she had decided to step down so she could focus on the 'wonderful opportunities' she'd been given.

Paying tribute to her fellow panellists, Denise said she would remain friends with 'all' of her co-stars, and insisted that despite claims of behind-the-scenes tensions, they were a 'happy band of campers'. 

Denise recently starred in the Channel 4 drama Tip Toe, and is also set to star in an adaptation of Graham Norton's novel Forever Home. 

Sharing news of her departure, Denise said: 'I'm leaving Loose Women.

'After best part of 25 years, off and on, I did leave for about seven years and went back in 2018. This show has been a part of me and my family's life for nearly a quarter of a century. 

'I have the most wonderful, wonderful memories and it's just that acting has always been my first love and I think the thing I'm best at, and at the moment I'm having the most wonderful opportunities coming my way.

'I'm grabbing them by the you know whats and running with it for this new chapter of my life.

'So I just wanted to say that in person to thank all of the people who have shared my stories with me, I've shared my life with you, the good, the bad and the ugly.

'I'm very Marmite, but I cherish all the comments good or bad that I've had over the years and I just hope you wish me well for this new and exciting chapter in my life.

'I'll miss everybody but I will remain friends with the whole gang because... we are a happy band of campers. Anyway lots of love, thanks for sticking with me.'

A spokesman for Loose Women said: 'Denise has been such a brilliant part of the Loose Women family and we are going to miss her hugely on the show. 

'We are sending her all of our love and best wishes for her next chapter.'

Denise was a huge hit on Loose Women, but her string of opinionated rants divided opinion over the years. 

Last year she took aim at her son Matty's ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift during an appearance on Bravo TV's Watch What Happens Live.

Denise seemed to accuse Taylor's fans of lashing out at anyone who dares to criticise the hitmaker, despite the pop star taking personal digs at her exes in her songs.

When answering a question about her reaction to The Tortured Poets Department album, Welch replied: 'Obviously, on pain of death can I talk about that episode, but being her mother-in-law is a role that I am glad that I lost.'

Elsewhere, Denise has clashed with many of her Loose Women co-stars over the years, including Kaye Adams and Stacey Solomon. 

She did have once very vocal supporter when she shared her news last week though. Her former co-star Carol McGiffin took a savage swipe at the ITV show, commenting on Denise's post: 'Baaaabes, can't believe you stuck it out for so long!'

'Upwards and upwards it is then. I won’t see you up there but hope to see you down here sometime!'

Carol, who was one of the show's original panellists, was renowned for her no-nonsense talking during her on and off 20-year stint on the programme.

She previously opened up about the decision to leave the show back in 2023 in her weekly column for the publication. 

Carol said: 'I haven't been on the show for two months now because I've had to step away from it. It was causing me too much stress, which was mostly down to a difficult contract issue I'd been challenging since January.

'The problem was, ITV were insisting, for the first time since I went back in 2018, that if I wanted to carry on doing the show, I would have to sign a contract that was totally unjust and unworkable for me, so I had to say no thanks.

'And I know it looks like I've thrown my toys out of the pram, but the whole saga was affecting my health.'