ITV’s daytime schedule is undergoing a major shake-up affecting both Lorraine and Loose Women with bosses citing budget cuts.
In the last episode of Loose Women on Friday 6 March, Kaye Adams confirmed the daytime staple would be off the air for some time.
It comes as part of a wider schedule shake-up which sees the long-running ITV show cut from running year-round to a 30-week seasonal schedule. Episode lengths were also cut in half from an hour to only 30 minutes, meaning the show has effectively lost over 70 per cent of its previous yearly airtime.
Loose Women was initially removed from air to make room in the daytime schedule for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival which ran from March 10 to 13 but will now remain on its scheduled break before returning next month.
The chat show Lorraine is also receiving the same treatment, reducing to a 30-week seasonal schedule and episodes cut to 30 minutes. It is also now on its scheduled break and will return at some point in April. Neither show has been given a confirmed date for when they will be back on air.
Nadia Sawalha, Charlene White, Judi Love and Jane Moore. Ray Burmiston/ITV
ITV’s managing director Kevin Lygo said in May 2025 that the cuts will “generate savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres”.
Lygo said in full: “Daytime is a really important part of what we do, and these scheduling and production changes will enable us to continue to deliver a schedule providing viewers with the news, debate and discussion they love from the presenters they know and trust, as well as generating savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres.”
He continued: “Daytime has been a core element of ITV’s schedule for over 40 years and these changes will set ITV up to continue to bring viewers award-winning news, views and discussion as we enter our eighth decade.”
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Speaking on what the changes will mean for those who work on Loose Women, Coleen Nolan told The Mirror: “Loose Women isn’t ending, which I’m so thankful for, but it’s changing.
“It’s going to be very different in the respect of the size of the crew, but it’s still running. Which it should be – there isn’t another show that celebrates and supports all women of every size, age, whatever.
“But it’s heartbreaking to see some of my colleagues not knowing what they’re going to do. Many of them have young families and mortgages.”
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Lorraine also addressed the changes in a statement made on Instagram, saying: “I will be off for a good few weeks. Not because I am not well, but because of course the changes to the show.
“We now do 30 weeks a year. So I won’t see you for a wee while, but I want to thank you for sticking with me through all the changes.
“I hope to see you when I am back on air. I never take it for granted and I really, really, really appreciate you tuning in. Thanks so so much.”
Due to Lorraine’s later start time of 9:30am, from the start of this year Good Morning Britain was extended by 30 minutes and now runs from 6am to 9:30am every day, and when Lorraine is not on air at all it runs until 10am.
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