Janet Street-Porter addresses Loose Women future as she plans to 'bully ITV boss'
Janet Street-Porter has opened up about the future of Loose Women and revealed that she plans to "bully" the boss of ITV Studios. Speaking on the Off Air with Jane and Fi podcast, the panellist shed light on the financial pressures facing ITV, adding that its advertising revenue had been "diminishing hugely".
ITV announced in May that it would axe more than 220 jobs and impose cuts to popular shows like Loose Women and Lorraine as it sought to claw back what Janet described as a "massive amount" of savings.
When asked to discuss the "fate" of the show, Janet had some encouraging words for fans. She described how the number of shows had risen "inexorably" over the years and would be reduced back to the level it started on.
She confirmed the show would air for 30 weeks of the year (or 150 episodes) and revealed that she'd presented her case for the show to Kevin Lygo, the managing director of ITV Studios, whom she knows "very well."
Janet said: "So, I've said to him in no uncertain terms what I feel about it, which is that Loose Women performs a valuable service.
"It talks about things women are interested in, in a pretty straightforward way. It gives people a bit of a laugh in the middle of the day, doesn't take itself too seriously."
When asked if the show would "carry on", she responded: "Yes, course it's carrying on! Of course it's carrying on. It's carrying on for 30 weeks of next year and maybe more if I can bully Kevin Lygo into submission." She added that the bullying was "metaphorically speaking".
Following the ITV announcement, fellow panellist Nadia Sawalha described the cuts as "out of the blue" and "absolutely brutal" for people working on the daytime chat show.
Opening up on her YouTube channel at the time, Nadia said: "What's been brutal, absolutely brutal, over the last week, honestly I feel tearful about it, is that hundreds of people... are going to be made redundant out of the blue, these are all the people behind the scenes that support us in every way."
Meanwhile, reports have emerged this week that the broadcaster plans to step up its cost-cutting strategy further, adding an additional £15 million to the £30 million already announced.
ITV said that although the economic environment "remains uncertain," the broadcaster can expect a "better outturn" for the full year 2025, noting that it was "driven by these cost efficiencies."
Carolyn McCall, ITV chief executive, said: "ITV is now a leaner, more digital business in a strong position to compete and succeed in a changing market.
"We are on track to deliver our 2026 key financial targets, with sustained good growth in ITV Studios and ITVX coupled with strategic cost management as we reshape our cost base to reflect the dynamics of the industry in which we operate."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
5 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
ITV accused of ‘cutting key Love Island scenes' as viewers ask ‘what are they hiding?'
Fans were sure there was something suspicious happening cut out ITV accused of 'cutting key Love Island scenes' as viewers ask 'what are they hiding?' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LOVE Island fans think they're not getting the full picture when it comes to what is happening in the Spanish villa. Eagle-eyed viewers have accused show producers of editing the long running ITV2 dating show to allegedly hide the actions of some of the contestants. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 3 Love Island fans were suspicious of the show's editing Credit: Eroteme 3 They say the women seemed to be over the top when slamming Harry Credit: Eroteme 3 It comes after the Grafties showed Harry pursuing Shakira while still with Helena Credit: Eroteme The accusations came after the notorious Grafties Awards episode aired, as fans clocked how the women in the villa started to realise footballer Harry had been the one pursuing Shakira all along. Harry had long been coupled up with Helena, but they decided to split up on Sunday's episode, and he ended up recoupling up with Shakira, after it was revealed during the Grafties that he still had feelings for her. But now Love Island fans have grown suspicious of what they are being shown, especially when it comes to what the Islander women were saying about Shakira. Some speculated that the women seemed to overcompensate by blaming Harry after the Grafties, because they had bad-mouthed Shakira before the truth was revealed. One fan wrote on Reddit: "The Grafties showed multiple times that it was Harry that was pursuing Shakira while she kept shutting it down (or trying to)... I immediately had a feeling they've [the other women] been putting all the blame on Shakira even more than what we saw. "But my guess is they were even more trash talking Shakira on how she is trying to steal Harry, and it's 'all her doing'.. otherwise there was no reason to say this so strongly so many times. "What do you guys think? I like to try and 'outsmart' the producers by guessing what they edit out." One person replied: "I imagine they all kept thinking Shakira was the one initiating these conversations - when it was all Harry. But agree OP there could have been even more side chats on this for this to fully make sense." Another added: "You're so right! Why else say that if they didn't all blame her or had some misgivings about Shakira. "What people don't understand, sometimes very small things that aren't active bullying can make people feel bad and it's not something you can sum up in a clip like a mean comment... Love Island star Harry kisses Shakira's neck and goes in for a snog in very intimate snuggling moment "These are all really small things you can't really put into a short clip but you actively feel it when it happens to you." After the Grafties, Harry admitted that he still had feelings for Shakira, despite being exclusive with Helena. Then Shakira ended her couple partnership with Conor, saying she had suppressed her feelings towards Harry. Harry and Helena ended up going their separate ways in emotional scenes. Helena was then picked by Blu to recouple with after the bombshell was brought back in to the villa in a surprise move. Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
Daily Mirror
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Loose Women star hints 'plenty of people are nauseating to work with' after scandal
Loose Women host Janet Street-Porter has slammed Gregg Wallace's 'disastrous' response to the MasterChef scandal, and says there are many more 'nauseating' people working in TV As both a TV executive and as a contestant, Loose Women star Janet Street-Porter has some history with MasterChef. She reached the final three in Celebrity MasterChef in 2013, losing out to a 'boring' effort from comedian Ade Edmonson, before returning victoriously in 2020. Janet has strong views on Gregg Wallace, most of them negative. His response to the growing scandal that has surrounded him has been 'disastrous, absolutely disastrous,' she said – adding that he's by no means the only problematic person in British TV. 'There are plenty of people like that,' she said on the Off Air with Jane and Fi podcast, 'there are plenty of people who are quite nauseating to work with. But you know, we just get on with it.' Still slightly resentful about having been denied a MasterChef win in 2013, Janet says that the dessert she invented for the final was later adopted by John Torode's restaurant. 'I got to know John and Gregg pretty well then,' she recalled. 'I already knew Gregg because he delivered vegetables to my partner's restaurant. We knew him as Gregg the Veg from the year dot. Then I did MasterChef the second time, which was a Christmas one, which I'm very pleased to say I won.' During her second stint on the show, Janet says she noticed 'a bit of a distance' between presenters Gregg and John, adding that 'they weren't quite so pally with each other.' The MasterChef controversy erupted late last year, after a number of people, including former Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, alleged that Gregg made inappropriate sexual comments behind-the-scenes. After the story broke, Sir Rod Stewart weighed in with an accusation that Wallace of 'humiliated' his wife Penny Lancaster on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021, and Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby claimed he had been 'extremely unpleasant' to her when she appeared on the BBC show. Former presenter Melanie Sykes later claimed that a 'jaw-dropping' interaction with Wallace on Celebrity MasterChef had made her decide to quit TV. In response, Wallace posted a video to Instagram suggesting that the allegations had all come from 'middle-class women of a certain age', prompting backlash from former Celebrity MasterChef contestants including Ulrika Jonsson, Kirstie Allsopp and Emma Kennedy. Following the outcry, Wallace backtracked, apologising for any 'offence' or 'upset' his remarks had caused, and said he had 'been under a huge amount of stress' when he posted his video. Earlier this month, following his formal dismissal from MasterChef and the results of an investigation being published, Wallace posted another video in which he said he had been cleared of the 'most serious and sensational accusations' against him, while apologising for some jokes he had made, which he accepted had been inappropriate 'at times.' He hinted that he 'wouldn't go quietly' after being axed from the show. An allegation of racist language being used by Wallace's co-presenter John Torode emerged at around the same time. Torode insisted that he had 'no recollection' of the incident and was 'shocked and saddened' by the news, adding that he knows any racially-offensive language 'is wholly unacceptable in any environment'. Both Torode and Wallace continue to deny the claims made against them, and will no longer be presenting MasterChef and Celebrity MasterChef. But despite the recent controversies around the series – and the two hosts' behaviour – Janet agrees that the already-shot new series featuring Gregg and John should be transmitted. She explained: 'I think the reason why it should be put out is, number one, it will be absolutely edited to remove anything that could cause offence or be construed in an unacceptable way. "Secondly, the time and effort that the contestants put into MasterChef is tremendous. And I think that to deny them their airtime and their moment in the spotlight is cruel, because what happened was nothing to do with them.' Janet added that the BBC has a duty to salvage as much as it can, given that the money has already been spent on shooting the episodes. The Loose Women host admits that she made her own mistakes during her time as a TV producer: 'I was a BBC executive,' she said. 'I was in charge of Junior MasterChef for about five minutes till they took it off me for being slightly overbearing to the contestants.' Janet was unwilling to go into much detail about her own personal MasterChef controversy, beyond saying that she 'made some child cry because I said something about kikifruit with a pork chop.'
Glasgow Times
10 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
KIDZ BOP LIVE to perform concert at Glasgow's Pavilion Theatre
The KIDZ BOP LIVE Certified BOP Tour will perform at the Pavilion Theatre on October 31. KIDZ BOP is known for delivering pop music for kids without explicit lyrics in its albums, videos, and live shows. They aim to create "the biggest choreographed dance ever" at the show. Tickets are on sale now at Read more: 'Finally! So excited': Folk star to perform in Glasgow as part of global tour Fans and families can learn the dance moves on YouTube in advance of the show, so they can join in when the KIDZ BOP Kids hit the Glasgow stage. Aleah from the KIDZ BOP Kids said: "APT is one of our favourites to perform during the show, so we've chosen it as the song that we'll dance together across each tour date in the UK. "Glasgow, we can't wait to party with you, and have the best time ever." The tour, which features Aleah, Cliff, Matty, and Shila, is promoting their new album "KIDZ BOP 51" and is underway in the US. The KIDZ BOP Kids will be performing songs from this album including "Abracadabra," "Pink Pony Club," and "Messy," as well as KIDZ BOP classics.
