Linda Robson has revealed the real reason for ITV’s Loose Women change amid fears that the show could be axed.
It was revealed back in May the show has been axed for half the year and Lorraine’s runtime has been slashed by 30 minutes, as Daytime bosses announced cuts with job losses in excess of 220.
According to insiders, once ITV’s budget cuts come into effect in January, Loose Women will no longer have A-list guests in the studio, and the broadcast is planned to only consist of the panel debating newsworthy topics from the week.
ITV also previously announced that Loose Women and Lorraine will only air on a seasonal basis for 30 weeks a year.
And now regular show panelist, Linda, 67, has opened up about the upcoming cost-cutting changes.
She told The Sun: ‘Well, you just have to stay positive, really, don’t, ya?,’
Linda Robson has revealed the real reason for ITV’s Loose Women change amid fears that the show could be axed
It was revealed back in May the show has been axed for half the year as Daytime bosses announced cuts with job losses in excess of 220
‘I think it’d be very sad if it got cancelled because of all the people that are watching at home, especially like older people and that was sitting down, looking forward to watching it every day.’
And while there are huge changes to the show, such as the scrapping of a live audience, Linda expressed her hopes for the show to return to its former glory in the new year.
The star explained: ‘A lot of them have been doing it for 25 years now, so, but hopefully, maybe, like in the new year, they’ll be able to get the audience back and carry on as normal.’
It was previously reported that bosses were considering axing celebrity guests on the long-running show.
Instead, each live show will apparently consist of the panel debating newsworthy topics from the week
Recently Loose lady Janet Street-Porter revealed which stars are at risk from brutal cost-saving cuts by ITV – and which panelists are safe.
The 78-year-old has shed light on the reality behind the looming cuts proposed by the broadcaster, which are set to impact several daytime shows.
Janet appears certain that the ‘older’ Loose Women stars are not likely to be cut, given they appeal more directly to the show’s target demographic.
ITV also previously announced that Loose Women and Lorraine will only air on a seasonal basis for 30 weeks a year
And now regular show panelist, Linda, 67, has opened up about the upcoming cost-cutting changes
But she warns that newcomers, younger stars or those with less experience could be at risk.
‘There are no plans to get rid of the older women despite what some people have said,’ Janet said.
The Brentford-born writer said the panel programme has gained the trust of female viewers as a place where important female-centred topics are discussed.
Janet added: ‘I think Loose Women has become a programme that is trusted by a lot of women because we talk about the issues that they are concerned about – whether it’s female health, domestic violence or how politicians don’t really understand working women.’
‘I think the show has managed to connect women who wouldn’t otherwise have a voice. ‘And it’s delivered with a lot of laughs because we don’t take ourselves too seriously.’
Journalist Janet Street-Porter (pictured this month) has revealed which stars are at risk from brutal cost-saving cuts by ITV – and which panelists are safe
Loose Women producers are expected to cut celebrity guests from the show – and growing fears the ITV staple could even be cancelled within a year.
The long-running series usually welcomes a host of celebrities onto the panel to promote upcoming projects and have had the likes of Naomi Campbell, Elizabeth Hurley, Joan Collins, and even former Prime Minster Rishi Sunak appear.
Now, TV sources have claimed that Loose Women is predicted to be completely cancelled within the year, as viewing figures are expected to drop once the show’s quality is reduced.
Daily Mail revealed that the show has axed their studio audience, an integral part to the programme, which caused upset among several members of the long-standing cast including Nadia Sawalha, Ruth Langsford and Coleen Nolan.
In May, ITV announced that Lorraine and Loose Women will only air for 30 weeks a year rather than 52, resulting in more than 220 of 440 staff involved losing their jobs.
A TV source told Daily Mail: ‘Not having guests is a big blow for both the presenters and viewers at home.
‘The guests are often one of the highest parts of the show, so it feels like a very strange decision to cut them altogether. Instead, the focus will be on guests for Lorraine and This Morning.
‘Behind the scenes the presenters are really upset because they love having guests on and feel they offer a different type of interview to the other daytime shows.
‘Firstly, there are four hosts conducting the conversation and secondly, they use their interviews to discuss female focused issues, something shows like This Morning don’t do as often.
‘In recent years, Loose Women have welcomed Elizabeth Hurley, Joan Collins and have down sit down one on one interviews with Janet Jackson and Naomi Campbell who all chose to do their chats with the show because they love it.
‘It’s a real shame that in January, the programme will become a shell of its former self before it is inevitably cancelled altogether.’
Daily Mail understands that the reason for Loose Women axing celebrity guests is because there simply won’t be enough manpower to host visitors and their decision has been to prioritise Lorraine and This Morning, so by default, the panel show will ultimately miss out.
Loose Women are expected to axe celebrity guests from the show amid growing fears the ITV staple could be cancelled within a year
Dame Joan Collins appeared on Loose Women in September 2024 where she spoke about her illustrious Hollywood career
Former Prime Minster Rishi Sunak faced a gruelling from the Loose Women in May 2024 who probed on topics from sex education in schools to pensions and housing
Supermodel Naomi Campbell was on the ITV show in May 2017 alongside panellists Coleen Nolan and Jane Moore
Loose Woman Olivia Attwood, who recently announced she will present This Morning during the upcoming summer holidays, pictured with guest, Love Island star Amy Hart (June 2025)
An ITV spokesperson added: ‘While the team is still working on the show for next year, we can assure you that Loose Women remains a big priority within our daytime slate.
‘The stars of the show are the Loose Women and that’s why they’ve received a BAFTA nomination, launched a podcast and celebrated a milestone anniversary in the last year alone.’
It comes after ITV announced dramatic budget cuts to their daytime schedule from halving Lorraine to 30 minutes and only airing the show during school term times to cutting Loose Women’s output to 30 weeks a year.
Under the plans, production of Good Morning Britain will be handled by a dedicated team at ITV News, which is made by ITN, the company that also holds the contracts to produce the news for Channel 4 and Channel 5.
ITV Studios will continue to produce Lorraine, Loose Women and This Morning but is consulting on a plan to reduce the three separate teams to one, with the latter being prioritised in terms of their celebrity bookings.
Loose Women panelist Nadia expressed her sadness over the show scrapping a live studio audience and as a result, her close friend and colleague, Lee Peart, who works as a warm-up artist, losing his job.
She said: ‘I am totally devastated by this fact, I can’t get over it at all. Not only because the audience is so important for the show, but also my dear friend Lee who I work with every day.’
Daily Mail understands that the reason for Loose Women axing celebrity guests is because there simply won’t be enough manpower to host visitors
It comes after ITV announced budget cuts to their schedule from halving Lorraine to 30 minutes and only airing the show during school term times to cutting Loose Women’s output
Nadia also vocalised her feelings over the ‘brutal’ cuts to Loose Women as she explained how tough the May announcement had been for staff.
She explained: ‘This show has been highly successful for 25 years, more actually now, it is such a clear brand…
‘The brutality of the world… what a lot of people don’t realise is that we’re self-employed, every contract is a new contract, I could be let go tomorrow or in five years, we’re not employees.
‘What’s been absolutely brutal over the last week and honestly, I feel tearful about it is that hundreds of people are going to be made redundant out of the blue, these are people behind the scenes, that support us in every way.
‘It’s the way of the world, inflation is insane, cuts have to be made… a lot of my friends and colleagues on this show and at ITV have been there for decades, and I can’t tell you how upsetting it was to see people walking around numb with shock and fear about what they were going to do.’
