Inside The Masked Singer’s Julia Sawalha and her Loose Women star sister Nadia’s decades-long family feud
NADIA Sawalha's sister Julia has made her TV comeback on The Masked Singer and the drama Vera - reminding fans of their bitter feud that has spilled into the public eye over the years.
One is known for sharing her private life on Loose Women, and regularly pours out her heart on the popular ITV daytime show.
The other is a famous actress who starred as moody Saffy in sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.
Julia helped Nadia get into acting - but nowadays they don't follow each other on social media.
And their very public make-ups and break-ups have left relations between Nadia and Julia Sawalha anything but Ab Fab.
Nadia and Julia — along with eldest sister Dina — grew up in Croydon, South London.
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After Julia was born, Nadia was forced to live apart from her family.
She previously recalled feeling jealous of her younger sister's bond with their parents.
She said: “When my mum had Julia, I was so excited I kept wanting to pick her up and cuddle her. My mum, who was a bit postnatal, got scared and sent me to her mother’s.
“Julia was a beautiful baby and everyone was crazy about her, so my sister Dina and I were a bit jealous.
“And as she grew up she was very much ‘Daddy’s little girl’.”
Honest Nadia also revealed how Julia helped her get into acting and let her move in with her, which unsurprisingly provoked a number of arguments.
Nadia's first role was playing the role of Annie Palmer in EastEnder from 1997 to 1999.
But she felt like she was living in her little sister’s shadow.
Nadia recalled: “When I went into EastEnders everyone called me Julia. It made me feel insecure.”
Julia also played Lynda Day, editor of the Junior Gazette, in Press Gang and Lydia Bennet in the 1995 television miniseries of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
At the height of their fame two decades ago, they suffered a serious fallout over Julia’s then-boyfriend, actor Alan Davies.
Nadia branded the notoriously private comic “a miserable git” after he complained about photos of him at Nadia’s wedding in a magazine.
The sisters did not speak for almost two years but patched things up after Julia and Davies split in 2004.
Nadia said at the time: “I’ve never liked one of Julia’s boyfriends yet. For a comedian, he’s a miserable git.”
Commenting on their row, she added: “We’ve had some rocky times, but the culprit has always been men.”
After Julia split up with Davies in 2004, she stepped back from acting and moved to Bath in Somerset.
But in 2016 she reprised her role as Saffy in the movie version of Ab Fab.
And a chance encounter on a trip to London to see her mother prompted her and Nadia to start talking again.
Speaking about that time, Julia recalled: “Nadia lives next door, and when I saw her at the window I walked over to her house.
“She came to the door and I said: ‘I miss you.’ ‘Oh, Julia,’ she said, ‘how brave of you!’ We hugged. I thought she didn’t love me. Now I know it’s the opposite.”
But they finally seemed to be finally getting along - until another bitter fallout.
In 2019, Julia accused the Loose Women star of "destroying" her family and spreading "lies and rubbish" in a furious tweet.
Nadia had recounted growing up with with her sisters and in particular her "volatile" relationship with Absolutely Fabulous star Julia.
She said on Loose Women: "So we've always had periods of time in our life where we don't speak. I always say I have the best time or the worst time of my life with her. It's the same with both my sisters.
"My dad always says 'formidable women'. That's all he wanted. He came to this country with £50 in his pocket because he wanted six daughters who were free.
"His sister was married at 14. He said 'I want strong, independent, professional women that follow their dreams.
"What he got was free very independent, difficult women. Because of that we have a very intense on and off relationship."
However, after watching the emotional segment, Julia took to Twitter to share her side of the story.
She fumed: "So tired of #nadiasawalha talking about our ‘stormy’ relationship which she created.
"I've kept my privacy for 6 years to protect my family, whilst she talks lies & rubbish.
"You have destroyed our family so don’t sit on TV with your fake tears to gain sympathy & attention."
Julia continued: "Yes well it’s very difficult when you only see the story from one side.
"I’m not actually fighting, she is, but paints a very different picture publicly and I’ve had enough."
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Nadia recently revealed that she lived on the same road with her parents and her sister Dina.
But she said their parents have recently moved to Jordan
