''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk S ...
that broadcasts on
ITV1
ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 pu ...
weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of their lives, and discuss topical issues ranging from politics and current affairs to celebrity gossip and entertainment news. The 3,000th episode of ''Loose Women'' was broadcast on 15 May 2018.
It was originally broadcast from Norwich, then Manchester, before moving to London.
History
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 continued 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
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
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''.
On 22 March 2020, it was announced that due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
, production on ''Loose Women'' has been suspended until further notice. Reruns of old episodes were aired in the programme's time slot. On 28 April 2020, it was announced that ''Loose Women'' would recommence production on two live episodes per week from 4 May 2020.
On 22 October 2020, ''Loose Women'' featured an all black panel for the first time in the show's history, featuring
Charlene White
Charlene Denise White (born 22 June 1980) is a British television broadcaster, journalist and presenter, best known for presenting ''ITV News'' programmes. She has been an anchor on ''Loose Women'' since 2021Brenda Edwards
Brenda Claudina Susan Edwards (' Artman; born 2 March 1969) is an English singer, actress, television personality and presenter. In 2005, she finished in fourth place in the second series of ''The X Factor''. As of 2019, she is a weekly paneli ...
, Judi Love and Kéllé Bryan. This panel has been seen several times since then.
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
Marvin Richard James Humes (born 18 March 1985) is an English singer, disc jockey, television presenter and radio host who used to present the Monday–Thursday late night show across the Capital Network. He previously hosted ''The Official Bi ...
Ronan Keating
Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career s ...
and
Roman Kemp
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
Mike Tindall
Michael James Tindall, (born 18 October 1978) is an English former rugby union player. Tindall played outside centre for Bath and Gloucester, and won 75 caps for England between 2000 and 2011. He was a member of the England squad which won t ...
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. The audience returned on 5 September and new opening titles were also introduced in the same episode.
Presenters
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. Adams, Sawalha, Jane Moore and Karren Brady were panellists for the first episode and Ruth Langsford appeared in the second episode.
Long-running panellists Carol McGiffin, Denise Welch, Jane McDonald and Lisa Maxwell departed from the programme in 2013.Coleen Nolan, Sawalha and Moore returned as panellists during 2013, whilst Adams returned as presenter. Langsford also rejoined the programme as a presenter in 2014.
On 3 August 2016,
Sherrie Hewson
Sherrie Lynn Hutchinson (born 17 September 1950) is an English actress, television personality and novelist. She is known for her roles as Maureen Holdsworth in ''Coronation Street'' (1993–1997, 2006), Virginia Raven in '' Crossroads'' (2001 ...
announced on-air that she would be leaving the show. Her final episode aired on 5 September 2016.
Denise Welch and Carol McGiffin returned to the show after 5 years away on 7 June 2018 and 5 July 2018 respectively.
On 9 May 2019, Kéllé Bryan became a panellist after appearing as a guest on 12 April 2019.
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. She returned as a panellist on 17 January 2020 after appearing as a guest on 10 January 2020.
On 30 November 2020,
Andrea McLean
Andrea Jean McLean (born 5 October 1969) is a Scottish journalist and television presenter who worked on ITV Daytime.
She was a weather presenter for '' GMTV'' from 1997 to 2008, and a co-presenter on ITV's daytime chat show '' Loose Women'' ...
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. Her last show was on 16 December 2020. On 11 January 2021, it was announced that
Charlene White
Charlene Denise White (born 22 June 1980) is a British television broadcaster, journalist and presenter, best known for presenting ''ITV News'' programmes. She has been an anchor on ''Loose Women'' since 2021Saira 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
Francesca Bridge ( Sandford, born 14 January 1989) is an English singer, formerly a member of S Club Juniors and a member of girl group The Saturdays. She is signed to Fascination and Polydor labels. Bridge began her career when she auditioned ...
in 2021.
On 23 July 2021, it was confirmed that Sunetra Sarker and
Katie Piper
Kate Elizabeth Sutton (née Piper; born 12 October 1983) is an English writer, activist, television presenter and model from Andover, Hampshire.
In March 2008, she was attacked with acid by her ex-boyfriend and an accomplice, causing major da ...
would become regular panellists on the show. On 7 September 2022, it was announced that Dame Kelly Holmes would join the show as a regular panellist.
Panellists
Current panel
Former regular presenters and panellists
Merchandise
Home Media
Over the course of four years, several Straight-to-DVD specials based on the series have been released by ITV Studios Home Entertainment.
* ''Let Loose: The Very Best of Loose Women'', was released in November 2008, and was a clip show that featured highlights of Series 12 and 13.
* ''Late Night with the Loose Women'', was released in November 2009, and featured a special extended “Late-Night” styled episode, containing more raunchier content than the main show can allow.
* ''Loose Women in New York: Let Loose in the City'', was released on 8 November 2010. This special featured Carol McGiffin,
Sherrie Hewson
Sherrie Lynn Hutchinson (born 17 September 1950) is an English actress, television personality and novelist. She is known for her roles as Maureen Holdsworth in ''Coronation Street'' (1993–1997, 2006), Virginia Raven in '' Crossroads'' (2001 ...
, Lisa Maxwell and Denise Welch going on a holiday to New York.
* ''Christmas with the Loose Women'' was released in November 2011. This one was also a special extended episode, and was presented by
Andrea McLean
Andrea Jean McLean (born 5 October 1969) is a Scottish journalist and television presenter who worked on ITV Daytime.
She was a weather presenter for '' GMTV'' from 1997 to 2008, and a co-presenter on ITV's daytime chat show '' Loose Women'' ...
A range of books have also been published under the brand which has expanded further with an online shop selling make-up products, champagne, personalised cups and stationery.ITV Shop Results ITV, 20 July 2011