Loose Women Dropped as ITV Extends This Morning in Major Schedule Shake-Up trucc

It comes ahead of more big changes to ITV's Daytime schedule

LOOSE Women has been pulled off air today with This Morning extended by half an hour.

ITV has once again made changes to its daytime schedule, removing Loose Women from today’s programming - much to the frustration of loyal viewers.

Loose Women bosses are also reportedly axing a huge part of the show amid ITV budget cuts

The talk show typically airs every weekday from 12:30pm to 1:30pm, but will be off the air for the next six days.

In its place, This Morning, hosted today by Cat Deeley, 48, and Ben Shephard, 50, will be extended by 30 minutes and finish at 1pm.

Following that, viewers will see the ITV Lunchtime News and ITV News London, before coverage of Royal Ascot begins at 1:30pm and continues until 6pm.

It comes as Loose Women bosses are also reportedly axing a huge part of the show amid ITV budget cuts.

Producers have decided to drop the live studio audience next year as part of a series of cost-cutting changes to its daytime programming.

The show will return in 2026 with a reduced run of just 30 episodes - and without the 100-capacity crowd.

It follows broader budget reductions across the channel, which also include halving Lorraine’s airtime to 30 minutes and airing it only during school term times.

Producers' decision to drop the audience is understood to be a cost-saving measure, as it is managed by an external company that provides security and a warm-up act.

However, the change has prompted concern among production staff and presenters, including Ruth Langsford, Kaye Adams, Nadia Sawalha and Charlene White, who rely on audience reactions to shape the tone of the live discussions.

A source told MailOnline: "The panelists are really upset over the decision to axe the live studio audience from the show.

"It's what sets the series apart from the rest of ITV daytime and now there are massive fears that viewers will switch off completely.

"The only concern now is to cut costs and having a live studio audience can be expensive, with the added need for security and a warmup artist.

"Presenters already know how it feels to broadcast the show without an audience because that's what happened during the pandemic, and they all know it creates low mood and lack of atmosphere."

An ITV source tells The Sun: "While there is a proposal to not have a studio audience for Loose Women from 2026, that doesn't necessarily mean that we’ll never have a studio audience again, it just won’t be in the same way as it is now.

"At this stage we are still exploring new ways of working and producing the show when we move to a new studio next year."

Last week, Kaye Adams broke her silence on the chaos at Loose Women, admitting she's had sleepless nights over the cuts.

Speaking on her podcast, How To Be 60, Kaye said she felt as though 'the rug had been pulled' from underneath her.

The 62-year-old confessed: “It did come out of the blue.

"I didn’t anticipate it, which is probably stupid in retrospect. You get into a sort of rhythm of life.

"I had a couple of sleepless nights I have to say, because it’s just like the rug’s been pulled from under your feet – what has been familiar.”

Kaye, who is one of Loose Women’s main anchors, said: “It’s going to have an impact. Lots of people will lose their jobs completely which is terrible. It’s a huge change.

“But I gave myself a talking to and I listened to my own advice for once – change is hard, but it can be good.

“The past is a trap, don’t fear the future – I’m telling myself all these things. And maybe this is the nudge that I needed to make some changes in my life and I’ll just have to go with it.”

It has been rumoured that the pool of Loose Women panellists will be reduced as part of the cutbacks, which will be introduced from January.

So far none of the hosts know if their livelihoods are at stake.

It is not yet known whether younger panellists, such as former Love Island contestant Olivia Attwood, 34, and influencer GK Barry, 25, will be favoured over veteran stars including Janet Street-Porter, 78, and Jane Moore, 63.

Kaye who joined the Loose Women panel from its first series in 1999, said: “It’s well documented of course. They’re having to make cuts and it will affect Loose Women and to be perfectly honest we have no idea at this point what is going to happen.”