LOOSE Women star Linda Robson had a severe OCD "meltdown" which saw her washing her bedding and taking four baths each day.

Linda returned to the ITV show on Friday to discuss her absence, and confirmed former press reports that her family had locked her in her house and that she spent a stint in rehab.

The actress was diagnosed with OCD but an anti-depressant that she was later prescribed sent her "hyper" instead of "calming" her down as expected.

She said: "It took over my life, I couldn't clean anything enough. It was really, really hard.

"I had a meltdown.

"I came off the wine, and upped tablets to sleep, so I went to see someone and they gave me something else – and I won't name it – but it gave me bad anxiety and depression, and my OCD kicked into overdrive."

The 61-year-old hasn't been seen on TV since cops raced to her home amid concern for her wellbeing.

The Sun revealed in early 2019 that cops and medics had been called to the Birds of a Feather actress’s home at least twice, with a source admitting that it "all got a bit too much for Linda and the family, and that’s why they called in police and experts".

She began drinking simply to "face the day", and acknowledged that it left her "family at their wits end."

She said: "Because I was drinking, they were locking me in and then I was shouting out the door 'someone let me out', and so the police were called and I think they thought I had been kidnapped. But it was my family keeping me safe."

At one point, Linda was on 16 tablets a day which she said left her "wired", and eventually her family found a rehab centre that they felt could help her.

Speaking on the show to Stacey Solomon, Nadia Sawalha, Jane Moore and Kaye Adams, she said: "I had four baths a day, washed bedding everyday and people joke about OCD, but it's not a joke. I felt so guilty, but I know now I was ill."

The actress shared with Loose Women viewers that her OCD made her "really low" and "so I started drinking again".

"I didn't think I'd make it through the day, and so I started drinking again," she said, before revealing how her doctor finally realised the issue was a reaction to medication.

"But you can't come off straight away, so it took a long time," she shared.

The Loose Women stars also revealed that they realised the extent of Linda's illness on a 2018 summer girls trip to Ibiza.

The good friends stripped down to bikinis as they hit the swimming pool in Ibiza during a group bonding trip, pictures of which Linda shared on social media.

But Nadia shared: "We were so worried, it was like we were losing you. We feared you had dementia and then it came to ahead in Ibiza."

"It was such an intense night, and it was the first time I'd seen severe OCD in action," added Stacey.

Jane shared her own experiences of watching Linda, saying: "We saw the signs but it creeps up and you don't know if you can say something.

"But when we look back now, giving up wine and coming off tablets as well – and then it was an antidepressant you were on and that was the problem."

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