WHEN you have two sisters in the spotlight, there is bound to be some sibling rivalry along the way.
However, runs much deeper than that and has seen the pair not speak for seven years.
Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha has been embroiled in a bitter fall out with her sisterCredit: Rex
The TV star hasn’t spoken to her actress sister Julia since 2019Credit: Getty – Contributor
The pair have both been vocal about their issues with each other over the yearsCredit: Getty
The Sawalha sisters, along with big sis Dina, grew up in Croydon, South London, raised by their Jordanian-born actor dad Nadim Sawalha and mum Roberta.
landed her first TV role in 1982, aged just 14, and ten years later bagged the part of a lifetime as ‘ moody daughter Saffy in the iconic comedy .
on the other hand emerged into the spotlight in her 30s, when she joined in 1997.
Despite both sisters doing well for themselves on TV, there has been a deep tension between them that has emerged several times over the years.
Here we take a look at how Nadia and Julia’s feud has evolved and why they no longer speak…
GROWING UP ‘FEELING JEALOUS’
The dates right back to when Julia was born.
Nadia revealed how she was “sent away” at four-years-old to live with her grandma following her little sister’s birth.
The TV star recalled feeling jealous of Julia’s bond with their parents when she was a child.
She said on Loose Women: “When my mum had Julia, I was so excited I kept wanting to pick her up and cuddle her. My mum, who was a bit postnatal, got scared and sent me to her mother’s.
“Julia was a beautiful baby and everyone was crazy about her, so my sister Dina and I were a bit jealous.
“And as she grew up she was very much ‘Daddy’s little girl’.”
It wasn’t just Nadia who felt “jealousy” towards her sister, Julia did too.
In an unearthed interview from 2007, the younger sibling also opened up about the sisters’ childhood.
“Nadia and I have always had a very intense relationship, and there have been moments in my life when I’ve felt very close to her and I had the love I wanted from her,” the Chicken Run star told The Times .
“But there were also times when she’d keep me at a distance, which really confused me.”
Julia and Nadia with their actor dad, Nadim SawalhaCredit: BBC
Continuing, Julia said: “I remember being about four and my mum reading me a story when Nadia screamed.
“She’d stood on a piece of wood and a nail had gone through her foot.
“So we had to go to hospital, and I remember thinking: ‘She did that on purpose because I was having a story read to me.’
“How awful! I was desperate to be Nadia’s friend, but I was just this little squirt, four years younger than her.”
Julia added: “Nadia always seemed aloof and mysterious to me. I was never allowed in her bedroom, so whenever she went out I was in there.
“I’ve always wanted Nadia’s approval, but as the years went on, I got tired of her bossing me around.”
Julia found a huge amount of fame in Ab Fab alongside Jennifer Saunders and Joanna LumleyCredit: Alamy
SIBLING RIVALRY
Nadia has always been very open and honest that Julia helped her get her big break in acting – but in turn it caused arguments between them.
At the time the younger sister was enjoying a huge amount of success both in the UK and the States thanks to Ab Fab.
Nadia’s first role was playing from 1997 to 1999.
Despite this being a huge break for someone who hadn’t had a TV role before, she still felt like she was living in her little sister’s shadow.
Julia helped Nadia get into acting – but tension grewCredit: Rex Features
This didn’t help when people also got her confused with her famous sibling.
“When I went into EastEnders everyone called me Julia. It made me feel insecure,” Nadia recalled once.
Julia has also previously talked about helping her big sister get a start in acting.
Speaking to The Times, she said: “One day she knocked on my door looking very unhappy.
“She said she wanted to get into acting, but she didn’t have an agent.
“It was making her really miserable, so I rang mine and he took her on. Nadia and I began living together.”
However, the star revealed things didn’t work out.
“Somehow, although I was meant to be grown up, Nadia always made me feel like a seven-year-old, and we ended up having a slamming-doors argument about who had what room,” she told the newspaper.
“She left and again I wouldn’t speak to her.”
Nadia admitted she felt that she was living in her little sister’s shadow when she landed the role of Annie Palmer in EastEndersCredit: BBC
BOYFRIEND TROUBLE
At the height of Julia’s fame in the late 90s, the sisters suffered another huge fallout – this time over a man.
It came about when the Ab Fab star was dating actor
Nadia branded the Jonathan Creek star “a miserable git” after he complained about photos of him from her wedding being in a magazine.
Venting at the time, the Loose Women panelist said: “I’ve never liked one of Julia’s boyfriends yet.
Nadia didn’t get on with Julia’s boyfriend, Alan DaviesCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
“For a comedian, he’s a miserable git.”
The fall out from this saw the sisters not speak for two years – they only reconciled when Julia and Alan split in 2004.
Commenting on their row, Nadia added: “We’ve had some rocky times, but the culprit has always been men.”
THE BIG FALL OUT
Despite making up after Alan, the sisters went without speaking for many years before making up in 2016.
It came when Julia went to visit her mum, after moving to Bath several years before.
Speaking about that time, she recalled: “Nadia lives next door (to my parents) and when I saw her at the window I walked over to her house.
“She came to the door and I said: ‘I miss you.’ ‘Oh, Julia,’ she said, ‘how brave of you!’ We hugged. I thought she didn’t love me. Now I know it’s the opposite.”
The sisters reconciled in 2016 – but this was short-livedCredit: Alamy
However, sadly this reunion was short lived – and now we arrive at , which has seen the two women not speak for seven years.
In 2019, and spreading “lies and rubbish” in a furious tweet.
It all kicked off when Nadia started talking about their relationship on Loose Women.
She told the panel: “So we’ve always had periods of time in our life where we don’t speak. I always say I have the best time or the worst time of my life with her. It’s the same with both my sisters.
Nadia’s revelations about her relastionship with Julia infuriated her sisterCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
“My dad always says ‘formidable women’. That’s all he wanted. He came to this country with £50 in his pocket because he wanted six daughters who were free.
“His sister was married at 14. He said ‘I want strong, independent, professional women that follow their dreams.
“What he got was free very independent, difficult women. Because of that we have a very intense on and off relationship.”
However, after watching Nadia talk about their relationship, Julia was FUMING.
Taking to Twitter/X, the actress vented: “So tired of #nadiasawalha talking about our ‘stormy’ relationship which she created.
“I’ve kept my privacy for 6 years to protect my family, whilst she talks lies & rubbish.
“You have destroyed our family so don’t sit on TV with your fake tears to gain sympathy & attention.”
Julia continued: “Yes well it’s very difficult when you only see the story from one side.
“I’m not actually fighting, she is, but paints a very different picture publicly and I’ve had enough.”
The two sisters haven’t spoken since.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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