Former Loose Women panellist Carol McGiffin has hit out at the 'raging' stars of the ITV show as she shared her thoughts on the news that the daytime TV show will be impacted by cuts
Carol McGiffin has unleashed a tirade against her "raging" ex-Loose Women co-stars and branded the ITV programme as the "poor relation" in a chat with Dan Wootton on his Outspoken podcast. The broadcaster, who departed from the show in 2023, didn't hold back in her critique of the daytime talk show and took a swipe at ITV bosses.
Following an announcement by ITV in May about its decision to cut over 220 jobs, affecting programmes like Lorraine and potentially reducing Loose Women to just 30 episodes a year, Carol vented her thoughts.
The 65-year-old suggested that while "online TV" might be getting the blame for their "suffering", she proposed that perhaps the quality of the show itself is lacking, as reported by Woman's Own.
Carol remarked: "They can stand there and say the reason we're suffering is because of online TV. Maybe it's just because it's rubbish, and they just aren't very good at it any more."
However, Carol's criticism wasn't solely aimed at ITV; she also had words for her former Loose Women colleagues, though she acknowledged some sympathy for them.
She continued: "I do feel for them. But I don't buy into this 'all their worlds have fallen apart because this show has ended'. Hang on a minute - what did you expect? Did you think it was just going on forever? Especially in the way it is."
Carol continued: "The (Loose) Women are apparently absolutely raging about it - I haven't spoken to any of them about it. They are like: 'We were kept in the dark'. They never know what's going on. Loose Women is the poor relation so is suffering the most."
However, Carol is not the only panellist to express her concerns about the cuts. In May, Nadia Sawalha shared her thoughts on her YouTube channel, describing the situation as "absolutely brutal".
Nadia revealed that she had been left feeling "tearful" over the expected redundancies, which she said were "out of the blue" and would impact people who worked "behind the scenes".
She also mentioned that the line-up of panellists could be reduced, adding that she "could be let go tomorrow, [or] I could be let go in five years".
Nadia said: "What's been brutal, absolutely brutal, over the last week, honestly I feel tearful about it, is that hundreds of people... are going to be made redundant out of the blue, these are all the people behind the scenes that support us in every way."
Addressing the plans, Kevin Lygo, the managing director of ITV studios, stated that daytime TV is "a really important part" of the network, and acknowledged that the move "will have an impact on staff".
As a result of the changes, Good Morning Britain will be extended by an extra half hour on weeks when Lorraine is not broadcast, while This Morning will continue to air in its weekday slot throughout the year, according to the BBC.
After a prior announcement regarding reductions in airtime for iconic soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale, ITV has disclosed that scheduled programming will see an hour less of these beloved series starting from 2026.
Dame Carolyn McCall, ITV's chief executive, spoke earlier this year about how the media firm had been making "good progress" with its money-saving ventures and was set to rake in £30million in non-content savings this year.
