This Morning extended and Loose Women cancelled today as Grand National takes over ITV schedule

Ben and Cat made the announcement on the show today…

ITV has announced a huge schedule shake-up today, as This Morning and Loose Women are affected by the Grand National.

The TV schedules have been overhauled to air the annual horse racing festival from Aintree – and it won’t only be today (April 3) that we’ll see programming changed around.

That’s because ITV Racing will dominate daytime programming for TWO days, with normal service resuming next week.

Loose Women has been taken off air today and tomorrow (Credit: YouTube)

When is the Grand National?

The highlight of the UK horse racing calendar will go down this Saturday (April 5).

It will be the 177th annual running of the Grand National horse race, taking place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool. The Grand National is expected to start at 4pm.

This Morning is still part of the ITV’s schedules, however – and episodes will be even longer (Credit: Instagram)

This Morning today –  how ITV Daytime is affected

However, it isn’t just Saturday afternoon’s telly that’s subject to change. Programming on ITV in the mornings and afternoon will also divert from its usual routine today and on Friday (April 4), too.

Ahead of the Grand National, more racing will air in the slots often occupied by Loose Women and other shows such as Celebrity Catchphrase, Jeopardy! and Tipping Point.

But while some shows will not be on the box, This Morning fans will celebrate having even more of ITV’s flagship daytime series to watch. That’s because, as hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard announced today, This Morning will be extended by half an hour, and will air until 1pm – rather than 12.30pm – on both Thursday and Friday.

Will you be watching horse racing and the Grand National over the next few days? (Credit: Instagram)

Loose Women today

Loose Women, however, will also be taking a short break from being broadcast. It will return to its usual slot next Monday (April 7), once the racing meet has finished.

And so, viewers can expect to watch ITV Lunchtime News at 1pm followed by a regional news update at 1.20pm, with ITV Racing under starter’s orders to begin at 1.30pm.

Racing will continue until 5pm on both Thursday and Friday, with episodes of The Chase starting at 5pm.

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It isn’t the first time in recent weeks that Loose Women has been bumped. Last month, the show made way for the Spring Statement from Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

And usual programming was also interrupted in March for horse racing due to the Cheltenham Festival.