ITV is set to make sweeping cuts to its daytime programming, with Loose Women facing a significant reduction in broadcast weeks.
The popular panel show will be cut from 52 to 30 weeks annually starting January 2026, as part of wider changes affecting several of the broadcaster’s flagship daytime programmes.
The move comes as ITV Studios implements budget reductions across its daytime schedule.
While Loose Women will maintain its current programme length, the substantial reduction in broadcast weeks has left many of the show’s long-standing panellists concerned about their futures, particularly those who have been with the programme since its launch 25 years ago.
The drastic measures at ITV Studios will see more than half of the 440 staff facing redundancy as part of the broadcaster’s cost-cutting initiative.
Other beloved programmes are also affected, with Lorraine Kelly’s show set to be halved to just 30 minutes and its broadcast weeks reduced from 52 to 30 a year, mirroring the changes to Loose Women.
Good Morning Britain and This Morning will also face budget reductions as part of the sweeping changes. One PR expert has even suggested these cuts could herald “the end of daytime TV” as viewers have known it.
Coleen Nolan, a long-standing member of the Loose Women panel since its inception, is reportedly particularly affected by the changes.
According to sources speaking to the Mirror, she is “reeling” from the news and feels “shocked and blindsided” by the announcement.
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The timing is especially difficult for Nolan, who lost her sister earlier this year and has had “a very tough year” already.
Insiders claim she is concerned about her financial future, as Loose Women represents her “main income” and the reduction in episodes represents “a big blow” to her.
The Blackpool-born presenter has been a staple on the show for 25 years, sharing personal experiences from divorces to family bereavements.
Last year, Nolan declared: “I’ll be with Loose Women as long as they want me, or as long as it is on air, because I love it and I’d really miss it. It’s been the constant in my life for 24 years – why would I want to give that up?”
PR guru Lynn Carratt commented on the shake-up: “What’s happening is brutal – it could spell the beginning of the end for daytime TV as we know it. And we could see more on-screen talent resign because of this.”
Carratt added: “No doubt, these changes will cause tension between the women, over who gets picked to join the panel.”
According to an ITV representative, the changes are not related to programme performance but rather focus on consolidating national news-gathering operations into one hub.
The broadcaster plans to redirect investment into headline-grabbing productions like “Mr Bates vs The Post Office” and major sporting events such as the football World Cup.
Denise Welch, speaking to the Mirror before these latest changes were announced, reflected on the show’s history of scheduling adjustments.
She said: “When Loose Women first started, it was never a staple of the daytime schedules like it is now. It was on for three months, off for three months.”
She added optimistically: “There’s life in these old girls yet.”
