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Many thanks to the 29 kind people who responded to my query, some were quite amusing quoting the "Little Miss Muffet nursery rhyme!".

The general consensus of opinion was that whey is a milk product and therefore "gluten free" but that coeliacs sometimes have a casein intolerance and could therefore be affected by it for that reason.  The following are some extracts (many people said the same thing):

"whey is the liquid that is let over when cheese is processed.  So it
depends on what was used to curdle the cheese.... you can see whey when you have a slightly older yogurt..that liquid is whey.  "Curd and whey" is cottage cheese"

".  It is a dairy product that contains casein.  If you are milk-sensitive, they stay away from ingredients containing whey.  Hope this helps."

"My understanding is that it does not have gluten in it. But that Whey is (I believe) a fat from dairy and since many Celiacs are lactose intolerant they should avoid Whey because of it."

"Whey is a milk product, and has no gluten.

However, if you are sensitive to milk protein, you will have a problem
with whey."

"Whey is milk residue.  GF.  Look at this other good forum for all (almost) 
the answers about CD:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/celiac/start/"

"Shouldn't if the milk is okay to start with.  As in curds and whey.  But, given the way they add stuff to everything, I guess you'd have to read the label or know the source of the milk.  In the US, that might not be a problem.  Noticed UK, so don't know their labeling standards."

"Whey has nothing to do with gluten.  This is a question often asked because
the beginning of the word is so similar to 'wheat'.  Whey is the watery
 portion of milk/dairy products.  If you've ever opened a yogurt or cottage
 cheese container and noticed the liquid portion had seemed to separate from
 the solids... this is whey.  Some may think there is something wrong with the the product & throw it out or pour the liquid off.  It is packed with protein and should simply be mixed in with the more solid portion and enjoyed.  Before milk products were 'homogenized', all milk products separated milk, & cheese is still made by methods which extract nearly all of the liquid 'whey' portion, leaving behind the solids. Maybe you've heard the old nursery rhyme:
 "Little Miss Muffet sat on her Tuffet, eating her curds and whey; when along came a spider and sat down beside her and frightened Miss Muffet away."  This silly little rhyme was referring to 'curds', being the solids (like cottage cheese) and the 'whey' liquid portion, which was apparently standard
breakfast fare as recently as 1 or 2 centuries ago.  "

"Whey is the liquid left over when the solid curds
form in cheesemaking." (Steve Carper, Milk Is Not for
Every Body)"

"Whey is a milk protein so is therefore GF.  Some celiacs react to whey
because of lactose intolerance or outright allergy to whey.  "

"Whey" is a milk by product and does not contain gluten.  Perhaps you
remember the nursery rhymes about curds and whey? Curds, also known as
cottage cheese,  is the solid part of milk that is separated from the whey,
the liquid portion of the milk, when making cheese."

"Whey is what is left of the milk after the butterfat as been removed.
It is naturally GF but you have to remember the food industry's
predilection for adding wheat flour to everything and beware of
contamination."

Thanks again for all your replies.

Carole

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