The stars of Loose Women have been left ‘terrified’ by ITV‘s cuts after bosses announced the daytime show will only air during school term times.
Anchors Ruth Langsford and Kaye Adams, both 65, and presenters Nadia Sawalha, 60, and Denise Welch, 66, are believed to be ‘angered’ and ‘panicked’ about their livelihoods being at stake, causing uproar behind the scenes.
ITV confirmed dramatic changes to their daytime TV schedule on Tuesday, with Lorraine Kelly’s show slashed from an hour to 30 minutes and like Loose Women, will only air 30 weeks of the year.
Top TV talent including Lorraine, 65, whose career spans over 40 years, are believed to be ‘furious’ and ‘insulted’ over the shake-up while the Loose Women are already fearing inevitable job losses.
The new regime, set to come into effect in January, will cost over 300 staff their jobs as a consultation period begins as soon as today, lasting until September, before contributors are finally let go in December.
Insiders have revealed to MailOnline that it’s Christine Lampard, 46, who fears she could be most affected given she presents Lorraine when she is on holiday and also anchors Loose Women, meaning her yearly work is now in jeopardy.
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The stars of Loose Women have been left ‘terrified’ by ITV’s cuts after bosses announced the daytime show will only air during term times with Christine Lampard (pictured October 2023) fearing she could be worse hit
Anchors Ruth Langsford (pictured May 2025) and Kaye Adams are believed to be ‘angered’ and ‘panicked’ about their livelihoods being at stake, causing uproar behind the scenes
Top TV talent including Lorraine (pictured May 2025) are believed to be ‘furious’ and ‘insulted’ over the shakeup while the Loose Women are already fearing inevitable job losses
A TV source told MailOnline: ‘All of the presenters are in a state of panic and up in arms following ITV’s announcement.
‘These shows make up a large part of their livelihoods, so they are just as stressed and angry as the production staff, who have been told over 300 jobs are at risk.
‘Ruth, Kaye, Nadia, and Denise, in particular, have been reaching out to the production team in a panic and to express how angry they are that ITV had made this decision.
‘Lorraine is also furious that her show has been chopped to 30 minutes and moved to just 30 weeks of the year, the same as Loose Women.
‘She thinks it’s the ultimate insult after so many years at the channel, especially as Good Morning Britain is staying the same, with the current hours, airing every weekday of the year, as her show rates the same as they do.
‘Loose Women and Lorraine dropping down in their schedule will badly affect Christine Lampard, she anchors for both shows so most of her yearly work is now at stake.’
MailOnline understands the cast of Loose Women, which includes over 20 presenters such as Charlene White and Coleen Nolan, feel there will be no option other than for the broadcaster to let go of key talent, who have worked on the production for decades.
It’s also believed that younger panelists, like former Love Island contestant Olivia Attwood, 34, and influencer GK Barry, 25, could be favoured over veteran stars including Janet Street-Porter, 78, and Jane Moore, 63.
It’s also believed that younger panelists like Olivia Attwood (pictured) could be favoured over veteran stars including Janet Street-Porter and Jane Moore
MailOnline understands Kaye Adams and Denise Welch (pictured 2024) are particularly angered by ITV’s changes to Loose Women, with them being integral parts of the panel
A Loose Women source revealed the likes of Kaye, Nadia and Jane are all contracted by the show whereas Myleene Klass appears on an ‘ad hoc’ basis (pictured May 2025)
Longstanding members of the panel such as Janet Street-Porter, who’s 78, could be at risk of losing their jobs following changes at the broadcaster (pictured May 2025)
A Loose Women insider added: ‘At the moment there are about 20 presenters at the show, some are contracted, like Ruth, Kaye, Nadia, Denise, Janet, and Jane, and others are more ad hoc, like Myleene Klass and Sue Cleaver.
‘It is hard enough right now to give every contributor a fair number of shows and to keep everyone happy and on screen as much as they would like.
‘Now, the show will air just 30 weeks a year, so a lot of people are going to lose their jobs. There won’t be enough shows to go around, so it means presenters who have been on the series for 25 years may be kicked off the panel.’
Loose Women, which launched in 1999, currently airs on ITV during the week for an hour but from January 2026, the show will only broadcast 30 weeks of the year.
In recent months, the show has attempted to reach a younger audience by recruiting Olivia, who currently fronts her own dating series Bad Boyfriends on the broadcaster, and in March, the series launched its first podcast across ITVX and YouTube.
Anchor Ruth, who previously co-hosted This Morning with ex-husband Eamonn Holmes until 2021, has been on the programme since the beginning, making her the longest serving panelist.
The shakeup was announced by ITV bosses on Tuesday, which included the extension of Good Morning Britain to run from 6am to 9:30am (pictured May 2025)
The shakeup was announced by ITV bosses on Tuesday, which included the extension of Good Morning Britain to run from 6am to 9:30am.
Good Morning Britain will be produced by a ‘dedicated team within ITV News at ITN’ while daytime shows Lorraine, This Morning, and Loose Women will continue to be made by ITV Studios.
Lorraine and Loose Women, who currently share the same studio, are filmed at Television Centre but as part of the changes will move to a central London location.
On Wednesday, The Mirror reported that Lorraine could quit her show for good over ‘fears’ the quality of her long-running series could decline.
ITV has claimed the changes will fund additional investment in dramas like Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which won three BAFTA TV Awards last week, and sporting events like next year’s World Cup.
