Loose Women’s Denise Welch fumes over rapist athlete competing in 2024 Olympic Games

Charlotte Dujardin has come under fire after footage showed her whipping a horse during a training session – but for Denise Welch, another Olympic athlete deserves just as much criticism

Denise Welch was frustrated that Steven van de Velde received close to no backlash for raping a 12-year-old after Charlotte Dujardin’s own actions caused her to be suspended.

The British dressage star, 39, was forced to pull out of the 2024 Olympic Games when footage showed her repeatedly whipping the back of a horse’s legs and she was suspended by the equestrian governing body, the FEI.

But as the dressage rider remains under fire for what she has described as “an error of judgement”, Loose Women panellist Denise Welch was seething to know that Steven van de Velde had been selected to represent the Netherlands in beach volleyball despite his rape conviction.

Steven van de Velde has been backed to represent the Netherlands in beach volleyball despite his rape conviction ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
When discussing Charlotte Dujardin with co-stars Judi Love, Mariella Frostrup and Coleen Nolan, Denise seethed: “The headlines all over the papers this week, and on television this morning, it’s about the cruelty to this horse and I completely understand that.” Before she moved on to Steven van de Velde.

“He’s representing the Netherlands in beach volleyball”, the former Coronation Street actress explained. “He is an accused rapist and he has been imprisoned. He was 18, 19 years old when he knew that this girl was 12. He raped this girl and he admitted to it.”

She then continued to summarise the situation in a dismayed tone: “He was given a four-year sentence f which he served a year and he has been supported by the board at the Olympics and they are saying: ‘we’ve got everything in place, he’s not allowed to mix with anyone’.”

Denise was then clearly livid as she added: “We’re talking about violence against women and we’re making headlines of this equestrian situation, which is serious, but nobody seems to be talking, front page wise, about what’s going on.”

Steven van de Velde was found guilty of raping the girl at an address in Milton Keynes ten years ago. Having become acquainted with her on Facebook, the then 19-year-old travelled to the UK and police were alerted to the rape after his victim sought the morning after pill at a family planning clinic.

He was given a four-year sentence at Aylesbury Crown Court in 2016 after pleading guilty to three counts of rape and served a year in a Netherlands jail before his release.

Dutch Olympic chiefs say that Van de Velde has “sought and received professional counselling [and] demonstrated to those around him – privately and professionally – self-insight and reflection.”