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Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha fought back tears as she paid tribute to her 'brave and selfless' friend who sadly passed away after a breast cancer battle.
The TV presenter, who joined Kaye Adams, Denise Welch and Sunetra Sarker, opened up on the impact of losing Hannah Gardner to the disease.
Hannah, who died in December aged 39, 13 years after first being diagnosed with cancer, had often appeared on the ITV daytime show to speak about her long illness battle.
Addressing Hannah's death for the first time on TV, Nadia opened up on her memories of her first meeting with her friend on a charity trek.
She explained: 'We first met on a trek for breast cancer, for Coppafeel, so we were hanging off the side of the Himalayas, and we were both really scared of heights.
'I don't quite know how we ended up going to the Himalayas, but we bonded quite quickly, and you know what I'm like, I'm really mothering, so whenever I'm in a group, I choose a duckling.
Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha fought back tears as she paid tribute to her 'brave and selfless' friend who sadly passed away after a breast cancer battle
Hannah Gardner, who died in December aged 39, 13 years after first being diagnosed with cancer, had often appeared on the ITV daytime show to speak about her long illness battle
'Her dad is Iraqi and my dad is Jordanian, so we had a culture feel for each other, and I just adored her right from day one - we met there and bonded deeply.'
Starting to get emotional as she reflected on their friendship, Nadia continued: 'She was so beautiful, and so kind - and I know people say a lot about bravery, she said, "None of you ever say I was brave, please", but I'm going to.
'I know she had no choice, but she was always putting everybody else first.
'She died on December 27, but her friend Sarah said, "Isn't that just so Hannah? She wasn't going to go on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, because she was thinking of everybody and their day".
'Her family are just devastated, she was always somebody that was looking after everybody else - and though I'm so much older, she also [looked after me].
'She was always thinking about everybody else, always brave for other people.'
Loose Women then went on to show a clip of Hannah, just before her devastating result that a drug she needed to continue battling the cancer had not been approved.
Nadia and Hannah had campaigned for life-saving drug Enhertu to be made available on the NHS for women who were battling secondary breast cancer.
Addressing Hannah's death for the first time on TV, Nadia opened up on her memories of her first meeting with her friend on a charity trek
Nadia previously broke down in tears as she told MailOnline about her 'powerhouse' pal Hannah- who had stage four incurable breast cancer, which spread to her liver
The drug, a targeted cancer medication used to shrink tumours and delay the progression of the disease, is not available on the NHS following an assessment of evidence of costs and benefits to patients.
Last year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) decided against a greenlight of its use for the 1,000 patients that would benefit from it.
In the clip, an undeterred Hannah could be seen thanking the Loose Women audience for their support after she took to the ITV show to talk about her campaign.
She said: 'I just wanted to say the hugest hugest, hugest thank you to Loose Women shining a spotlight on this.
'I don’t think we speak about secondary breast cancer enough and I’ve had a little think about it and I do wonder if it being incurable makes it feel like a bit of a dark conversation to have.
'But that’s the point here, there can be so much hope to be had after diagnosis.'
Breaking down in tears after the video, Nadia continued: 'She was so proud of coming on this show and thanks for the support that everyone gave her.'
The TV personality revealed that Enhertu had the potential of giving her close friend Hannah, who has a three-year-old daughter, another six months of life
Nadia told MailOnline: 'She's a powerhouse and I do worry about that because she needs to also be looking after herself, but we've got her, you know, me and our group of friends are very engaged and there for in every way'
Hannah had stage four incurable breast cancer, which spread to her liver and Nadia had previously spoken about her friend's situation on ITV's Loose Women.
Nadia posted a picture of Hannah wearing a sparkly dress sitting on a swing, alongside the caption: 'Rest in peace now darling'.
The TV personality also shared a heartfelt message to Hannah in the caption of the post, describing her own emotions as 'shocked and distraught'.
She wrote: 'Our beautiful Hannah... Although we knew it was coming we are all so deeply shocked and distraught. No need to be brave anymore darling you can now rest in peace, and all the love you created.
'You were and will forever be deeply loved... To all the staff at The Princess Alice Hospice in Esher, the kindness and care you showed not only to Hannah, but also to her friends and family was extraordinary. Thank you.'
Nadia received support in the comments section, including from her husband Mark Adderley, who wrote: 'Just so so heartbreaking - a beautiful woman - a beautiful friend - a beautiful mother - just can't believe it'.
Others wrote: 'Beautiful Han. She loved you all so much Nadia. What a woman. She will be so missed'; 'So so sorry to hear this news'; 'So sorry for your loss.. it's too sad but so glad she's not in pain. Love and hugs'.
In March 2024, Nadia broke down in tears as she told the Daily Mail about her 'powerhouse' pal Hannah after also speaking about her on Loose Women.
Holding back tears, Nadia continued: 'She's the youngest one in the group and she was diagnosed 11 years ago and she's been on such a wheel, she's been told that she's had cancer four times and she never falters.' (Nadia and Hannah on Loose Women)
Nadia and Hannah (pictured) were left 'reeling' after learning a pioneering cancer drug was blocked for use in England
Nadia and her friend Hannah were left 'reeling' after learning a pioneering cancer drug was blocked for use in England.
Nadia condemned the decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence who said that the cost the NHS was being asked to pay for trastuzumab deruxtecan - known as Enhertu – was 'too high'.
The TV personality revealed at the time that Enhertu had the potential of giving her close friend, who had a young daughter, another six months of life.
In an exclusive interview, Nadia told us: 'We've got this young woman, with a young autistic child, with secondary breast cancer in her liver, in her lung, and she's also supposed to be basically begging for this drug. And it just seems brutal.
Nadia gushed: 'She's a powerhouse and I do worry about that because she needs to also be looking after herself, but we've got her, you know, me and our group of friends are very engaged and there for in every way.
'We're a group of friends, we all met on a trek raising money for breast cancer, about seven years ago, there's four of us, we call ourselves the Fab Four and we say we're holding you...'
Fighting back tears, Nadia continued: 'She's the youngest one in the group and she was diagnosed 11 years ago and she's been on such a wheel, she's been told that she's had cancer four times and she never falters.
'I've seen her be given so much bad news just in the the years that I've known her and she breaks for like a minute. It's really strange to watch and it might sound like a weird thing but it's always a privilege to watch, she's so focused and I love watching her with the oncologists who are just all fantastic and the way that she advocates and talks about the drug.'
Nadia Sawalha has announced the death of her best friend Hannah Gardner as she paid tribute to her following a cancer diagnosis
Hannah, a former clinical trial manager, issued a devastating health update at the time, explaining that the tumours in her liver were growing.
She was given her primary breast cancer diagnosis in 2013 after discovering a lump in her left breast, and after undergoing treatment, the disease returned twice, in 2017 and again in 2020.
In June 2022, Hannah received the heartbreaking news that she had stage four incurable breast cancer, which then spread to her liver.
Hannah explained on Instagram last year: 'I've been hit with probably the worst news I've had yet. Progression. All tumours in my liver are growing. There are now four big ones with lots of little spots popping up. I'm scared, I can't lie.'
Hannah waited months to learn whether she would be eligible for groundbreaking new treatment Enhertu, and said she was 'crushed' to learn it had been blocked by the NHS.
Enhertu is the first licensed targeted treatment for patients with HER2-low breast cancer, that cannot be removed surgically or has spread to other parts of the body, also known as metastatic breast cancer.
Chemotherapy is usually offered as a treatment, but if the targeted therapy had been made available, around 1,000 patients a year would have been eligible.
Trials of the drug found it boosted the time the cancer was held at bay from seven months to over two years – results that were called 'mind-blowing' by experts.
Loose Women airs weekdays from 12:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX
