A Good Morning Britain favourite has dodged the chop as ITV’s Daytime shows face a wave of cost-cutting measures. Next year will see significant shake-ups, including an extended breakfast show by 30 minutes. Lorraine will be trimmed down to a half-hour slot each day and will broadcast for only 30 weeks annually. This Morning will continue its regular schedule, while Loose Women will also stick to an hour-long format but will similarly be reduced to 30 weeks per year.
Amidst these changes, Richard Arnold has secured his spot on Good Morning Britain, where he regularly presents the entertainment news. “Richard is one of ITV daytime’s best-loved faces never mind on GMB. Viewers enjoy his slots and he remains very much part of the furniture,” an insider told The Sun, affirming that Richard’s role is safe.
This news emerges as other high-profile ITV personalities voice concerns over their own and their colleagues’ futures, reports the Mirror.
It comes after the first axe from the Loose Women team has been confirmed by panellist Nadia Sawalha. Appearing on her podcast, Nadia said to her husband Mark Adderley: “From next year there will be no Loose Women audience. I am totally devastated by this fact, I can’t get over it at all. Not only because the audience is so important for the show, but also my dear friend Lee who I work with every day.” Lee Peart, the comedian has been working as the warm-up star for the Loose Women audience for the past eight years.
Coleen Nolan, a familiar face on Loose Women, shared her worries with the Mirror: “The crew have become family. I’ve watched them grow. Some of our runners from back in the day are producers, married with kids. I’ve shared my life with them. They’re in limbo, not knowing what they’re going to do. Loose Women isn’t ending, which I’m so thankful for, but it’s changing.”
“It’s heartbreaking to see some of my colleagues not knowing what they’re going to do. Many of them have young families and mortgages.”
Nadia Sawalha, a regular on Loose Women, echoed these sentiments, voicing her fears for the team’s future – and her own.
“What’s been brutal, absolutely brutal, over the last week, honestly I feel tearful about it, is that hundreds of people… are going to be made redundant out of the blue, these are all the people behind the scenes that support us in every way.
Nadia also clarified her own situation, saying: “What people don’t realise at Loose Women is that we’re self-employed. I am self-employed. Every contract is a new contract. I could be let go tomorrow, I could be let go in five years, you don’t know because we’re not employees.”
