Elizabeth Hurley squirmed in the ITV studio as she was grilled by the Loose Women panellists about her blossoming romance with Billy Ray Cyrus – before Coleen Nolan took a savage swipe at their relationship.

The actress and model, 60, appeared alongside panellists Coleen, Brenda Edwards, Kelly Brook and Sunetra Sarker to discuss her love life.

But the mother turned bashful when asked about her new beau, and awkwardly sipped tea while raising her eyebrows, as if to buy herself some time.

‘I think timing is everything,’ she said of her new-found love.

‘Prior to that I was a single mum and I took that really seriously so there wasn’t really anything after I split up with my last boyfriend which was Shane [Warne].

‘It just didn’t seem right to introduce someone into our family and into our lives.’

Elizabeth Hurley squirmed in the ITV studio as she was grilled by the Loose Women panellists about her blossoming romance with Billy Ray Cyrus
+6
View gallery

Elizabeth Hurley squirmed in the ITV studio as she was grilled by the Loose Women panellists about her blossoming romance with Billy Ray Cyrus

And panellist Coleen Nolan took a brutal swipe at Liz's new relationship - prompting the other women to gasp
+6
View gallery

And panellist Coleen Nolan took a brutal swipe at Liz’s new relationship – prompting the other women to gasp

The actress and model, 60, appeared alongside panellists Coleen, Brenda Edwards, Kelly Brook and Sunetra Sarker to discuss her love life
+6
View gallery

The actress and model, 60, appeared alongside panellists Coleen, Brenda Edwards, Kelly Brook and Sunetra Sarker to discuss her love life

Liz said country star Billy has been trying to teach her to play guitar, adding: ‘He was very keen at first then he realised how appalling I was.’

She told the panel how both her child and Billy’s children, most famous among them Miley and Noah Cyrus, have ‘left the nest,’ allowing the pair to focus on their relationship.

But Coleen chimed in with a catty swipe about their romance when she said: ‘When you’re 60, anything’s better than nothing.’

The other women gasped and the audience erupted into uncomfortable laughter, but well-meaning Coleen swiftly moved on to the next topic.

Liz also discussed the arrival of her reality competition, The Inheritance, on UK screens.

The Hampshire-born star said of the show: ‘Even though it’s unscripted my bits are entirely scripted.

‘To do something unscripted would be invading my privacy in a way, then when they said I was dead for most of it, I didn’t understand it at all.’

Liz plays The Deceased in the new series, a bitter woman with a massive fortune that she has left to strangers, leaving them to battle it out under the guidance of her pre-recorded videos.


+6
View gallery

But the mother turned bashful when asked about her new beau, and awkwardly sipped tea while raising her eyebrows, as if to buy herself some time

She told the panel how both her child and Billy's children, most famous among them Miley and Noah Cyrus, have 'left the nest,' allowing the pair to focus on their relationship
+6
View gallery

She told the panel how both her child and Billy’s children, most famous among them Miley and Noah Cyrus, have ‘left the nest,’ allowing the pair to focus on their relationship

But Coleen chimed in with a catty swipe about their romance when she said: 'When you're 60, anything's better than nothing'
+6
View gallery

But Coleen chimed in with a catty swipe about their romance when she said: ‘When you’re 60, anything’s better than nothing’

She continued: ‘My character was supposed to be about 90, with grey hair, but they said I could play it however I like!’

But, ironically, the former model explained she is ‘not big’ on the idea of inheriting a fortune herself.

‘I don’t have anyone wealthy in my family so I’m not going to inherit much anyway, but I’d like them to enjoy it,’ she said.

‘My mummy is still alive and we say “we want you to enjoy it and spend the lot” and I’m debating doing the same – going out on empty.’

It comes amid news that Liz’s new reality show The Inheritance has flopped with dire ratings in a huge blow to Channel 4.

The glossy format, in which the actress plays a wealthy heiress known only as The Deceased, pulled in just 540,000 viewers on Sunday night, making it one of the broadcaster’s lowest-rated reality debuts.

Inspired by the success of BBC hit The Traitors, the series sees contestants battle it out for the fortune left in The Deceased’s will, with Rob Rinder taking on the role of lawyer.

Although the premiere peaked with 670,000 viewers in its opening minutes, it fell woefully short of the 890,000 slot average.

Austin Powers star Liz, 60, introduced herself in the opening moments by declaring: ‘Hello darlings! I have some bad news. Are you ready? Here goes. I’m… dead.’

For much of the show, the star was seen lying beautifully made-up in a coffin.