ITV speaks out over concerns Loose Women panel to be slashed amid daytime cuts

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Reaction to the news Loose Women will air only 30 weeks of the year from January irked Jane Moore, who said she was "immensely disappointed" to see pundits' "lazy misogyny"
ITV has insisted it is not planning "radical changes" to the Loose Women line-up after it emerged some panelists were "in a state of panic and up in arms" amid the cuts bombshell.
The popular daytime programme will air for just 30 weeks each year from January, one of several changes ITV is making to "reinvest across the programme budget in other genres." It reportedly left some Loose Women stars worried for their future, particularly Coleen Nolan, who a source had said was "shocked and blindsided" at the decision.
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Her colleague Jane Moore was also furious, albeit more so at the "snooty reaction" by commentators in the media. The journalist said she felt the programme has received unfair criticism, and reminded pundits the panel regularly hold key political figures, such as Nigel Farage, held to account.
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ITV has also stressed Loose Women plays an important part in its daytime schedule, and told the Mirror today that wholesale changes to the panel are unlikely. The ITV source said: "We are not planning any radical changes to the panel. All of our Loose Women are hugely valued and we celebrate each and every one and the experience and opinions they bring to the show every day.
"Many of our long standing panellists have appeared on the show for the majority of its 25 year run on screens and those stalwart, Loose legends are at the core of the show's success and hugely popular with the audience. The show remains a big priority within our daytime slate, having secured a BAFTA nomination, launched a podcast and celebrated a milestone anniversary in the last year alone."
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It is thought this stance has been shared with the stars themselves, some of whom "reached out to the production team in a panic" following the announcement of the shake-up last week. Ruth Langsford and Kaye Adams were among those particularly concerned, the Mirror reported in the wake of the bombshell.
Coleen, whose sister Linda died in January, "has always really relied on Loose Women... her main income," a source had told us. They added: "She was one of the first Loose Women and she's always thought it would go on forever. The Loose Women ladies are all gutted. They love the show and are really dedicated to it."
The programme, which first aired in 2000, won a Royal Television Society award earlier this year for its Facing It Together campaign against domestic violence. However, writing for The Sun this week, Jane said: "One male commentator for a broadsheet casually dismissed Loose Women — on air for 25 years — as a 'gabfest'... The snooty reaction from some quarters was immensely disappointing."
The journalist, in her second stint on Loose Women, reminded critics Janet Street Porter confronted then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the show, asking him: "Why do you hate pensioners?" The iconic moment in May 2024 led to his fall from power, as Labour thrashed the Conservatives in a landslide election just weeks later.