Vanessa Feltz reveals she was put on a diet aged nine as she shares body struggles

Vanessa Feltz has opened up about her early experiences with dieting, revealing that her mother put her on a diet at the tender age of nine.

The seasoned broadcaster shared her lifelong struggle with body image and weight during a candid discussion with the panel of Loose Women, including Charlene White, Brenda Edwards, Judi Love, and Kelle Bryan, to promote her new book Vanessa Bares All.

Opening up about her childhood, Vanessa confessed to being served grapefruit for dinner while her family enjoyed a full meal, an experience which significantly altered her approach to eating.

Reflecting on her younger years, Vanessa told the panel: "I was a little girl and I wasn't a chubby girl who likes eating cake, I was a skinny kind that wasn't very interested in food. And then I did this thing that my parents never forgave me for, which in those days you called developing. I was getting these very tiny bosoms and I was about nine.

"My mum rushed me off to the specialist and was asking what's going on with her, and they said 'well Mrs Feltz she's developing', and my grandmother said that was ridiculous as I was only nine, almost as if I had done it on purpose. I think my mum thought my waist would go in and my hips would come out, and I think she panicked I would be fat."

Vanessa also touched on the societal pressures of the '60s, stating how the era's beauty ideals, epitomised by model Twiggy, added to the pressure she faced to maintain a slender figure to enhance marriage prospects, reports .

"So from that moment she started dieting me, I was nine. We were all having a chicken soup with vermicelli and lovely dumplings and everything and Vanessa's having half a grapefruit. I was nine! I felt as if I was being punished but I didn't know what I'd done," she shared.

"From that moment, my mother became my diet police which is very difficult, because if every time you raise a fork to your mouth, your mother looks horrified, what are you supposed to do. It made me hungry all the time."

However, Vanessa emphasised that her mother didn't intentionally cause harm but it impacted her body image for life. She elaborated on how people had the liberty to say or write anything about her, something she found challenging to deal with.

Loose Women airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 12.30pm. Vanessa's book Vanessa Bares All is out today.