Who is Sophie Morgan? All you need to know about the new Loose Women panelist

Who is Sophie Morgan? Loose Women (opens in new tab) viewers have been wondering about the new presenter after she made her debut as a panelist on the ITV daytime (opens in new tab) show.

Sophie, 36, made her debut on Loose Women this week, joining the likes of Christine Lampard, Coleen Nolan, and Jane Moore to give her views on the hottest topics of the day.

The former reality TV contestant is the latest panelist to join the show, alongside the rotating regular stars and with more of her expected to be seen in the coming weeks, we give you everything you need to know about the presenter...

Who is Sophie Morgan?

Sophie Morgan is an award-winning disability advocate, TV presenter and social entrepreneur who was paralysed in a car crash when she was 18 years old.

Born near Crowborough, East Sussex, Sophie was educated in South Croydon and later Moray in Scotland.

She had planned to study law at Manchester but just after receiving her A-level results, Sophie crashed a car carrying four friends while driving between parties in Elgin, Scotland.

Sophie, who had only passed her test six months before the crash, blamed her dangerous driving.

She previously admitted, "I wasn't drunk, I was just driving like an idiot."

Her friends received minor injuries but Sophie was trapped under the overturned car and ended up with a fractured back, nose and skull.

Paralysed from the ribs down, she went on to study art before applying to be a reality TV star on BBC Two's show Beyond Boundaries which follows 11 disabled people on a 220-mile trek across Nicaragua.

However, Sophie was forced to pull out of the show after suffering from amoebic dysentery in the jungle.

But her reality TV career didn't end there - she came second in Britain's Missing Top Model, the reality TV search for a disabled model - where she came runner-up to Kelly Knox. And modelled for Stella McCartney designs for Adidas in 2012.

Among the TV shows she's presented are License To Kill, The World's Worst Place To Be Disabled? and The Tricks of the Restaurant Trade.

She has also reported for Horizon, The One Show (opens in new tab) and Channel 4 News and designed the first Mannequal which is a wheelchair for shop mannequins.

And now she is about to make waves on Loose Women. After her ITV debut, Sophie shared the news to her Instagram followers and captioned the photo 'Well that was FUN!!! Today I was a LOOSE WOMAN! Thank you so much for having me you beautiful, naughty, fabulous women.'

What is Sophie Morgan's disability?

Sophie Morgan is paralysed from the chest down after suffering a T6 spinal cord injury during a car accident.

She has recently opened up on her health journey, in a bid to raise awareness around spinal injuries. Sophie recently shared some throwback snaps taken two weeks after she left intensive care.

Part of her lengthy caption explains, 'I’m in rehab, learning how to move my body now that I no longer responds to the commands my brain wants to send it.

'They may look like tragic, but this was a turning point in my recovery. I was taking control of my situation and moving forwards.'

But she hasn't let her disability stop her from aiming high. In 2012 and 2016 she presented the Paralympics as one of Channel 4's main sports presenters.

And she has an upcoming documentary called Living Wild: How to Change Your Life (opens in new tab).

In 2015 Sophie rubbed shoulders with Prince William having met him during The Duke of Cambridge's visit to China, at the time, Sophie, who is paraplegic was wearing a Rex Robot on a visit to the GREAT British Festival of Creativity in Shanghai.

Who is Sophie Morgan's partner?

Sophie Morgan's partner is named Tom and he works as an acupuncturist. She has previously spoken candidly about their sex life, saying it took Tom by surprise that she is still able to enjoy sex despite having no feeling below the waist.

Sophie has already been hailed an inspiration following her first Loose Women appearance on the panel.

One fan wrote, 'You were an inspiration on loose women today, hope you are a regular'

Another viewer put, 'You were fab on the show today 🤩. Thanks so much for sharing this, my daughter is t7 complete & is 11 yo now & she has just started to feel self-conscious about her tummy 😕 it’s really reassuring to know there are options to help her feel better & more confident as she gets older. Xxx'

And fellow panelist Katie Piper (opens in new tab) added, 'Love the outfit and so interesting reading the caption, I always learn so much from your content and Tv shows ❤️'

Loose Women is on ITV, weekdays at 12.30-1.30pm and Living Wild: How to Change Your Life is on Channel 4 from 11th February.