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Loose Women's Charlene White makes feelings clear to ITV bosses after huge cuts
Reach Daily Express | July 8, 2025 12:39 AM CST

Loose Women star Charlene White took a subtle swipe at ITV bosses over the huge cuts to daytime TV at the close of a debate. During Monday's visit (July 7) to the London studios, the mum-of-two welcomed viewers back to the lunchtime show where they discussed the biggest stories hitting the headlines.

This included tensions rising between Noel and Liam Gallagher as they opened their global Oasis reunuion tour this weekend, and the question over whether grandparents should be paid for childcare. However, one of the biggest stories on everyone's lips was Ozzy Osbourne's final performance with his band Black Sabbath at his farewell gig in Birmingham on Saturday (July 5).

The musician was joined on stage by fellow rock gods Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, the Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood and Aeorsmith's Steven Tyler for the epic send-off at Villa Park.

The 76-year-old musician, who has Parkinson's disease thanked the crowd with an emotional speech as he shared how much he enjoyed being able to perform for as long as he did given his health struggles.

This sparked a conversation on the show about how important a good work ethic is in life, and Charlene wasted no time in using it to take a subtle jab live on air.

She mused: "I can't imagine myself, well, I would like to work as long as I'm physically able to and I'm still enjoying it. But as we know, the TV industry is going in so many different directions who knows what will happen when I reach retirement age, hey?"

The crowd awkwardly chuckled before the host moved onto the next segment. It comes after the afternoon show faced another blow following reports that the show is set to axe a vital segment from the programme.

Lorraine and Loose Women recently had their usual time slots slashed in a brutal move from ITV, which comes into effect in January 2026.

In the new daytime schedule, Lorraine will no longer hold their usual hour-long 9am slot, and will instead run from 9.30am-10am, on a seasonal basis for 30 weeks of the year. What's more, Loose Women will continue to air for one hour from 12.30pm, but again on a seasonal basis for 30 weeks of the year.

According to MailOnline, they have alleged that Loose Women is set to scrap their live audience due to budget cuts. Sources have told the publication that talent on the ITV show is "upset" to see the live studio audience go.

A source told the outlet: "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."

When Express.co.uk approached for comment about the show changes, a source replied: "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."


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