Loose Women

It was originally broadcast from Norwich, then Manchester, before moving to London.

History[edit]

The panel comprises four women from various professions in the entertainment and journalism industries, who interview celebrities, discuss their lives and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip.


ITV decided to scrap the original format of Loose Women and instead opted for a more condensed version of the show under the new name Live Talk. This new version was filmed in Manchester instead of London and the show kept its old roots. The rebranding made its debut on 25 September 2000 and ran for 121 episodes. On 8 June 2001, Live Talk aired for the last time until 2 September 2002 when the Live Talk format and branding was scrapped and was rebranded back to Loose Women.


On 22 June 2016, Sir Cliff Richard sat down for a one-on-one interview with close friend Gloria Hunniford for a special edition of Loose Women subtitled Sir Cliff: Out of the Shadows.^[4]


On 22 March 2020, it was announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production on Loose Women had been suspended until further notice.^[5] Reruns of old episodes were aired in the programme's time slot.^[5] On 28 April 2020, it was announced that Loose Women would recommence production on two live episodes per week from 4 May 2020.^[6]


On 22 October 2020, Loose Women featured an all black panel for the first time in the show's history, featuring Charlene White, Brenda Edwards, Judi Love and Kéllé Bryan.^[7] This panel has been seen several times since then.^[8]


On 19 November 2020, there was an all male panel for the first time in the show's history, to celebrate International Men's Day, altering the show's name to Loose Men for the day. Panellists featured were Marvin Humes, Iain Stirling, Ronan Keating and Roman Kemp.^[9] Since then, there have been several episodes of Loose Men featuring the likes of Vernon Kay, Richard Madeley, Johannes Radebe, Mike Tindall and Ore Oduba.


On 3 August 2022, it was announced that the live studio audience would be returning from early September, having been suspended for over two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[10] The audience returned on 5 September, and new opening titles were also introduced in the same episode.


On 21 April 2023, it was announced that Loose Women would be going on a live tour in September 2023.^[11]

Presenters[edit]

Kaye Adams and Nadia Sawalha were the original presenters on the show. Sawalha left in 2002, after the birth of her first child; Adams kept the role for the first ten series until the end of 2006, when she left to go on maternity leave.^[12] Adams, Sawalha, Jane Moore and Karren Brady were panellists for the first episode and Ruth Langsford appeared in the second episode.


Coleen Nolan made her debut appearance in 2000 followed by Carol McGiffin. Jackie Brambles became anchor in 2006, before being replaced by Kate Thornton in 2009. Thornton was axed in 2011 and was replaced by Carol Vorderman who left in 2014.


The panel varied from 2003 to 2013 with the core panellists being Nolan, McGiffin, Denise Welch, Sherrie Hewson, Zoe Tyler, Jane McDonald, Lisa Maxwell and Lynda Bellingham. Kerry Katona, Claire Sweeney, Jenny Powell, Josie D'Arby, Kym Marsh, Nina Wadia, Terri Dwyer, Lesley Garrett, Gillian Taylforth, Sheree Murphy, Jo Bunting, Beverley Callard and Arlene Phillips also appeared.


Nolan left in 2011 and was replaced by Sally Lindsay. Other panellists during this time consisted of Linda Robson, Jenny Eclair and Janet Street-Porter.


Long-running panellists Carol McGiffin, Denise Welch, Jane McDonald and Lisa Maxwell departed from the programme in 2013.^[13]


Coleen Nolan, Sawalha and Moore returned as panellists during 2013, whilst Adams returned as presenter.^[14] Langsford also rejoined the programme as a presenter in 2014.^[15]


On 3 August 2016, Sherrie Hewson announced on-air that she would be leaving the show. Her final episode aired on 5 September 2016.^[16]


Denise Welch and Carol McGiffin returned to the show after 5 years away on 7 June 2018 and 5 July 2018 respectively.^[17]


On 9 May 2019, Kéllé Bryan became a panellist after appearing as a guest on 12 April 2019.^[18]


On 16 October 2019, it was confirmed that Linda Robson would return to the show after a twelve-month break due to her suffering from OCD.^[19] She returned as a panellist on 17 January 2020 after appearing as a guest on 10 January 2020.^[20]


In February 2019, Brenda Edwards made guest appearances as a panellist to fill in for Robson. She was then brought in as a regular panelist in March that year. Linda returned in early 2020 and Edwards has since stayed on making weekly appearances.


On 30 November 2020, Andrea McLean announced she was to leave the show after 13 years so she could concentrate on her new venture, membership website This Girl Is On Fire.^[21] Her last show was on 16 December 2020.^[22] On 11 January 2021, it was announced that Charlene White would become a regular anchor presenter on the show, replacing McLean after her exit from the show in December 2020.^[23]


On 3 January 2021, Saira Khan announced that she would be leaving Loose Women after 5 years with immediate effect and would not return in 2021. She made her final appearance on 15 December 2020, and was replaced by Frankie Bridge in 2021.


On 23 July 2021, it was confirmed that Sunetra Sarker and Katie Piper would become regular panellists on the show.^[24] On 7 September 2022, it was announced that Dame Kelly Holmes would join the show as a regular panellist.^[25]


On 3 May 2023, it was reported that Carol McGiffin has been forced to leave the show due to a dispute within her contract.^[26]