Julia Sawalha hit out at her older sister Nadia this week, accusing her of ‘ruining’ their relationship after talking about their family on Loose Women.
But the latest saga is a mere drop in the ocean of their long and bitter feud, which stems back from their childhood and their father Nadim’s desire to raise ‘strong, independent women’.
Nadia, 54, discussed their father’s desire to raise ‘formidable women’, and her tense past with actress Julia, 50, which has culminated in a number of feuds, one of which over Julia’s relationship with actor Alan Davies.
Family drama: Julia Sawalha’s latest rant about her older sister Nadia (pictured) has reunited their long and bitter feud, which stems back from childhood
Nadia, who has also clashed with her older sister Dina, 56, over her choice of husband, said on Monday’s special edition of Loose Women: ‘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.’
Jordanian-born Nadim, now 88, moved to the UK in the 1950 and, Nadia said, he encouraged competition between the sisters in order to ‘follow their dreams’, but she soon grew jealous over Julia being ‘Daddy’s little girl’.
The Loose Women panellist added: ‘[Julia] is totally amazing. She’s really amazing, my younger sister, but we’ve always had a really volatile relationship.
‘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.’
Feud: The latest saga is a mere drop in the ocean of their long and bitter feud, which stems back from their childhood and their father Nadim’s desire to raise ‘independent women’
Epic falling out: Julia (left) and Nadia (right) are pictured together in May 2010 but the pair have been feuding on and off all of their lives
Envy: Nadia claimed their warring had begun in childhood, after she grew jealous over Julia being a ‘beautiful baby’ and ‘Daddy’s little girl’. (Julia pictured with their father Nadim)
Resentful: Nadia said: ‘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”‘
Nadia said Julia, who rose to fame playing Saffron Monsoon on long-running sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, was a ‘beautiful baby’.
The sisters grew up in Croydon, south London, with Nadim and their mother Roberta, now 79. She revealed: ‘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”.’
Fight: Nadia revealed her tense past with Julia has culminated in a number of feuds, one of which over Julia’s relationship with actor Alan Davies (pictured in 2003)
Nadia gave some insight into the deep rooted nature of their feud, revealing that her mother Roberta, 79, sent her away after having her younger sister Julia.
‘My mum got pregnant with Julia and I was so excited as there are four years between Julia and I, and my mum then had her and freaked out so sent me away to my grandmother’s,’ Nadia explained.
‘She says when she looked back at it “what was I thinking?” But there you go. And so I think because of that, my younger sister and I have always had a really stormy relationship.’
Formidable: Nadia (pictured with sisters Julia and Dina and parents Nadim and Roberta) said, ‘My dad always says “formidable women”. That’s all he wanted’
Feuding: Nadia had claimed their warring had begun in childhood, after she grew jealous over Julia being a ‘beautiful baby’ and ‘Daddy’s little girl’ (pictured with Julia and Nadim in 2000)
The sisters have been feuding on and off for years, with Nadia previously saying men of their turbulent relationship: ‘We’ve had some rocky times, but the culprit has always been men’.
Relations frayed two decades ago over Julia’s then-boyfriend Alan Davies, 53.
The Jonathan Creek star was branded a ‘miserable g*t’ by her Nadia after complaining about photographs published of him attending her wedding to TV producer Mark Adderley in OK! magazine.
It was only when Julia split from Alan in 2004 after two years (amid reports he refused to commit) that she and Nadia became close again.
Sibling rivalry: Julia rose to success playing Saffron Monsoon on long-running sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (pictured right with Jennifer Saunders, left)
Nadia and Julia, along with their older sister Dina have previously clashed over the men in their lives, as Nadia also feuded with her older sibling Dina over her choice of husband, and the pair didn’t speak for years.
Following Nadia’s discussion on Loose Women about on their family feud, Absolutely Fabulous star Julia hit out at the Loose Women presenter in a shock Twitter rant, accusing her of spouting ‘lies and rubbish’ on television in order to garner ‘sympathy and attention’.
She tweeted: ‘So tired of #nadiasawalha talking about our’stormy’ relationship which she created. Ive kept my privacy for 6 years to protect my family, whilst she talks lies& rubbish.
Happier times: Following Nadia’s discussion on Loose Women about on their family feud, Absolutely Fabulous star Julia hit out at the Loose Women presenter (pictured in 2001)
‘I’ve had enough’: The actress fired back just two days after Nadia discussed her ‘really volatile relationship’ with her younger sibling
Show of support: Julia’s followers were stunned by her admission, rallying around her following her very rare public confession
‘You have destroyed our family so don’t sit on TV with your fake tears to gain sympathy & attention. [sic]’
Responding to fans’ concerned comments on Wednesday, Julia admitted: ‘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 ❤’
Nadia (left) said of her relationship with Julia (right): ‘She’s really amazing, my younger sister, but we’ve always had a really volatile relationship. So we’ve always had periods of time in our life where we don’t speak’ (pictured together in January 2013)
Julia’s supportive followers were stunned by her admission, rallying around her following her very rare public confession.
One fan suggested Julia should show Nadia ‘unconditional love’ and she would come around, prompting the Ab Fab star to respond: ‘Tried that, made it even worse, but thank you’.
Another supporter told Julia: ‘Sad to read this, you will only feed the gossips and media on here hunni . Hope you can both eventually sort it out .x’.
She replied: ‘I know, just watching 6 years of her lies finally got to me, which of course is just what she wants, more attention. Thank you for your understanding.’
A third shared: ‘Sending lots of love, must be really getting to you for it to spill out online.’
‘You know me Nik, I wouldn’t ever do this online , my pressure cooker blew. Thank you for your love, means a lot.xx’, Julia commented.
Another follower applauded Julia for her bravery, to which she responded: ‘Thank you, it took a lot of deliberating and my dear boyfriend putting up with my sadness for too too long. Thank you for saying that, it means so so much to me.x’
Julia has since ‘liked’ several tweets from her fans in which they branded Nadia a ‘bitter liar’.
Volatile? This isn’t the first time Nadia and Julia have feuded; the women (pictured in 1999) previously fell out over the Ab Fab star’s ex Alan Davies
NADIA’S FEUD WITH OLDEST SISTER DINA
Nadia also clashed with her older sibling Dina over her choice of husband, and the pair didn’t speak for years.
She told Woman & Home magazine last year: ‘I was begging [Dina] not to marry her partner and we didn’t speak for a long while after that.
‘I remember sending her a text saying, ‘I’m completely heartbroken’ – I was.’
However, the sisters made amends once Dina separated from her husband, and Nadia was happy to support her.
Dina – who now lives next door to Nadia – said: ‘As her sister, I see a very different side of her; she’s always so loud and in your face on Loose Women – sometimes I think: ‘Oh, please don’t say that!’ – but I get to spend time with the real Nadia.’
She added: ‘That’s the Nadia I love.’
Nadia previously confessed on Loose Women that she paid off Dina’s boyfriends, as she thought they were ‘no good’.
She admitted: ‘I once paid my sister Dina’s boyfriend to leave the country. I was a lot more interfering back then. It worked! He left because he is no good for her.’
Third sister: Nadia also clashed with her older sibling Dina (left) over her choice of husband, and the pair didn’t speak for years, although they are now neighbours