Loose Women star Judi Love has revealed she was temporarily banned from her local social housing authority following a dramatic confrontation involving a container of maggots. The comedian, 46, recounted the incident during an appearance on The Romesh Ranganathan Show, detailing the extreme measures she took after her complaints about a severe insect infestation in her London social housing property were initially dismissed.
Love explained that shortly after moving into the property with her two children, she noticed an increasing number of flies, which she was initially told was normal for summer. However, the problem escalated significantly, with maggots appearing on the floor. Despite her repeated calls to the housing authority, she was reportedly advised to clean her home, a suggestion Love found frustrating given the severity of the issue and her young children.
The situation reached a critical point when Love, feeling unheard and desperate, collected dead flies and maggots in a container and took them directly to the housing authority's office. She described slamming the container down and demanding action, an act that led to staff calling security and, subsequently, a ban from the authority's services. While the specific duration of the ban was not definitively stated, Love mentioned it was lifted after a period, possibly a year or more.
Eventually, the source of the infestation was discovered to be a large, decomposing bird behind the chimney, necessitating extensive work including digging up floorboards. Love and her children were temporarily accommodated in a hotel during this period. The TV personality stressed the importance of respecting authority staff but emphasised her emotional state and the need to protect her children from the uninhabitable conditions.
This is not the first time Love has spoken out about the challenges of social housing. In a 2022 column, she shared that her son had ended up in intensive care due to damp in a previous social housing property. Her experiences highlight broader concerns regarding the condition and maintenance of some social housing properties across the UK, and the difficulties tenants can face when seeking resolution for serious issues.