Loose Women star Gloria Hunniford expressed gratitude to everyone who sent her birthday wishes but acknowledged it was a bittersweet celebration as it coincided with the 21st anniversary of her daughter Caron Keating's death. Caron tragically lost her battle with breast cancer on April 13, 2004, at just 41 years old. In an Instagram post, Gloria shared: "Thank you for all the lovely birthday messages. I had a really lovely time celebrating over a long weekend with friends, family and loved ones."

She continued, reflecting on her loss: "Unbelievably, yesterday also marked the 21st anniversary of my late daughter Caron's passing and it was therefore so special to spend it with her boys." One heartfelt message read: "Happy Birthday Gloria, thinking of you on Caron's anniversary hard to believe it's 21 years a beautiful daughter taken too soon.", reports Belfast Live.

Another person chimed in, saying, "Happy Birthday Gloria. I'm so glad you got to spend time with the boys.

"Happy Birthday, Gloria. I can see Caron in her beautiful sons!" remarked another follower, while someone else offered words of encouragement, "Gloria! You're so motivational for me to keep going in life after all you've been through. I admire your hard work after still being on television at 85. Thanks for being the light in a dim world!".

Separately, Gloria had to unexpectedly drop out of filming her segment during the judgement of her magical-themed cake on the recent Celebrity Bake Off, where she was noticeably missing towards the end.

Loose Women co-host Alison Hammond noted her absence, mentioning that Gloria was "not feeling very well".

The 85 year old star suffered a "terrible fall" behind the scenes, prompting a precautionary visit to the hospital.

She opened up to the Mirror about her disappointment at missing the final critique but remained positive about her experience: "I had a terrible fall at the end of the programme, so I never got to finish it," Hunniford revealed.

Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV1.