Kerry Katona has joked for Loose Women to enlist her as a panellist to add some 'spice' to the show amid ITV cuts which will see the long-running series on TV much less.
Kerry Katona has called for ITV to bring her onto daytime show Loose Women amid cuts across the channel, with the long-running show being cut back to a “seasonal” schedule of 30 weeks a year in cost-saving measures.
Alongside the scheduling change, nearly 220 staff members could lose their jobs across ITV ’s daytime schedule, affecting flagship shows like Loose Women, Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, and This Morning.
Giving her opinion on the broadcaster's worrying shake-up, former singer Kerry, 44, wrote in her New! Magazine column: "So, ITV has announced big cuts, with Loose Women and Lorraine scaled back to just 30 weeks a year, which I think is a shame. But if I’m honest, I’m not completely surprised. I think in the modern world it can be difficult for shows like these to stay afloat.
"People don’t watch live TV like they used to. But saying that, things can always be revived. I’ve been around for many years and am still reinventing myself and coming back stronger, so I don’t think it’s the end for the shows. They need to get me on the Loose Women panel. I’d certainly add some spice!"
Kerry has appeared as a guest on Loose Women several times over the years, but never as a permanent panellist.
While Loose Women has taken a hit, morning chat show Lorraine, fronted by Lorraine Kelly, will see the most drastic changes. It’s to be reduced from an hour-long show to just 30 minutes and will go on-air for 30 weeks a year, rather than 52.
A spokesperson for ITV said of the latest move that it was not related to the performance of any of its shows, but about centralising its national news-gathering production in one place and investing resources into high-profile shows such as Mr Bates vs The Post Office and big sporting events like the football World Cup.
Last year there was already talk that ITV was tightening its belt and flagship daytime shows were reportedly in “crisis talks”.
Denise Welch recently told the Mirror before the latest changes were announced, “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. Then another programme came along and notched it down to half an hour, which the racing still does – but we’ve got our place.”
The Waterloo Road actress added, “There’s life in these old girls yet. Older women’s voices are so important, and I’m very proud to be a part of a show that continues to celebrate that.”
