Nadiya Sawalha emotional as she gives candid speech on ‘brutal’ ITV Loose Women cuts: ‘Terrifying’
Loose Women presenter Nadia Sawalha became visibly emotional as she opened up on the impact of ITV’s sweeping redundancies affecting Loose Women and Lorraine.
The presenter appeared on her YouTube channel alongside husband Mark Adderley to address the “brutal” job cuts that have hit the daytime television programme.
Sawalha, 60, became visibly upset as she revealed the extent of the redundancies, stating: “What’s been brutal, absolutely brutal over the last week.
“And honestly, terrifying, is that hundreds of people were made redundant and are going to be made redundant out of the blue.”
The presenter described witnessing colleagues receive just one week’s notice as part of ITV’s major cost-cutting drive across its daytime programming schedule.
Sawalha painted a stark picture of the atmosphere within ITV’s offices, describing “scenes of shock and fear in the corridors” as staff grappled with the unexpected redundancies.
She also expressed deep sympathy for her behind-the-scenes colleagues, saying: “So to all my friends and colleagues behind the scenes who have just got a huge shock out of the blue, I’m so sorry.”
The presenter emphasised the vital role of production staff, telling viewers: “Behind the scenes there are people that are really suffering.”
She added: “And what you don’t realise is when you attack the show you attack them, because you never see all the army of people behind the scenes and how hard they work.”
Sawalha revealed how distressing it had been to witness the impact firsthand, stating: “I can’t tell you how upsetting it was to see people just walking around numb with shock and fear about what they were going to do.”
The redundancies form part of ITV’s broader restructuring of its daytime television schedule, with significant cuts announced across multiple programmes.
Loose Women will be reduced to just 30 weeks per year, whilst Lorraine Kelly’s show has been slashed from an hour to 30 minutes and will also air for only 30 weeks annually.
The changes will see production teams behind Lorraine, This Morning, and Loose Women merged together, resulting in the substantial job losses.
Good Morning Britain will be extended until 9.30am each day to fill the programming gap left by the reduced Lorraine show.
Reports suggest Lorraine Kelly herself may quit ITV altogether next year after allegedly turning down what sources described as an “insulting” offer to merge her programme with Good Morning Britain.
Sawalha also revealed her own precarious employment situation as a self-employed presenter, admitting: “I could be let go tomorrow, in five years, you don’t know because we’re not employees.”
She explained that each contract represents a new agreement, adding uncertainty to her own future on the programme.
The presenter defended Loose Women against recent criticism, particularly after columnist Jane Moore highlighted what she described as “misogynistic pile-on from male presenters and other columnists.”
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Sawalha noted that the attacks on the show had been “worse than whatever trolls have been saying about our show that we feel really protective of.”
Despite the upheaval, ITV sources have disputed claims of radical changes, stating that all Loose Women panellists remain “hugely valued” and that the show continues as “a big priority within our daytime slate.”