Loose Women
| Loose Women | |
|---|---|
| File:Loose Women.svg | |
| Presented by | Andrea McLean Kate Thornton with Sherrie Hewson Carol McGiffin Coleen Nolan Lisa Maxwell Jane McDonald Denise Welch Lynda Bellingham Lesley Garrett Zoe Tyler |
| Opening theme | Patrick Duffin |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer | ITV Studios |
| Production location | The London Studios |
| Running time | 60 mins |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 6 September 1999 – present |
| Related | |
| The View | |
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme. It was first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip and sexism.
Production
When it began, the series was filmed in London in Studio 3 at The London Studios. After the second series in 2000, the show moved to a Manchester studio and was briefly re-branded as Live Talk. In 2002, Loose Women returned for a third run, moving to Anglia's Studio 2 in Norwich. For series six in 2004, the show returned to The London Studios where it has remained in Studio 3, although the set has been updated three times (2005, 2007 and 2009). The show enjoys high viewing figures in its daytime slot, and, since 2007 (Series 11), has aired all year round, with only a short hiatus at Christmas and a longer 'end-of season' break in August. Of the five weekday shows, Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays are broadcast live, where Wednesday's and Friday's shows are pre-recorded the evening before at 5:30pm. This is due to time and cost saving measures and also so that the studio can be used for other shows.
Panel
The panel comprises four women from various professions in the entertainment and journalism industries, including actresses, singers, authors, presenters and reporters. Although all four women are classed as presenters in the credits, one acts as the main anchor, linking to breaks and competitions and addressing the television audience. Kaye Adams and Nadia Sawalha were the original anchors, and Adams held on to role for the first ten series until the end of 2006, when she left to go on maternity leave. Adams was expected to return for a new series, but in August 2007 she confirmed in her newspaper column that after 7 years, she decided that she wanted to move on to other projects and would not be returning.[1] Occasionally, regular panelists such as Carol McGiffin and Denise Welch assume the position of anchor and there have been guest hosts, including Fiona Phillips and Kate Garraway.
From 2007 to 2009, the anchor job was shared by Jackie Brambles and Andrea McLean who each presented for half of each week, as well as covering for one another's holiday leave. Following Jackie Brambles' departure in August 2009,[2] Kate Thornton took over from her during the following month and continues to present the show in rotation with Andrea McLean.
The panellists also rotate throughout the week, with three of them appearing on each show. Only four panellists - Coleen Nolan, Lisa Maxwell, Carol McGiffin and Jane McDonald - always occupy the same seats when they appear, and the other ladies move around to accommodate them. Coleen Nolan and Lisa Maxwell are always found in the chair nearest the anchor, followed by Carol McGiffin and then Jane McDonald
Current Panelists
| Years | Panelist |
|---|---|
| 2007-present | Andrea McLean (Anchor) |
| 2009-present | Kate Thornton (Anchor) |
| 1999-2002, 2006, 2007, 2009 | Ruth Langsford (Anchor) |
| 2000, 2004-present | Coleen Nolan |
| 2002, 2005-present | Denise Welch (Occasional Anchor) |
| 2003-present | Carol McGiffin |
| 2003-present | Sherrie Hewson |
| 2004-present | Jane McDonald |
| 2006, 2009-present | Lesley Garrett |
| 2007-present | Lynda Bellingham |
| 2007-present | Zoe Tyler |
| 2009-present | Lisa Maxwell |
| 2009-present | Rachel Agnew |
Make Me a Loose Woman 2009
In 2009, ITV held a nationwide search for a female member of the public to appear as a panellist for five episodes. The winner was Rachel Agnew, who claimed in her audition tape to be the voice of "cashier number ... please" as heard in shops' queue systems. She first appeared as a panellist on Wednesday 8 July and was present for five shows in the run-up to the end of the series in August 2009. Rachel has also confirmed that she will be returning in the autumn.[3]
Rachel now has a contract with ITV to appear as a panellist on the show. She has appeared twice during the series on 21 and 22 October 2009, and then appeared three times in December on 8, 18 and 22 December 2009.
Related programming
Loose @ 5.30 aired at 5.30pm on ITV for two weeks from 29 May 2006. This teatime spin-off of Loose Women was a slight twist on the original format; the panel was composed of both men and women for the first time. Kaye Adams and Ted Robbins anchored each show with two more panellists, usually another male and female, who included Sherrie Hewson, Jane McDonald, Carol McGiffin, Coleen Nolan and Denise Welch from the Loose Women team and former Loose Women guests Jason Gardiner and Jeff Brazier.
Live Talk was a re-branding of Loose Women. The programme lasted 2 series; the first in 2000 and the second in 2001. Many of the former Loose Women team, came to the show including Kaye Adams, Nadia Sawalha, Pattie Coldwell, Karren Brady, Coleen Nolan and Julie Hesmondhalgh. For this new programme, many new panellists contributed including Carol McGiffin, Jenny Powell, Jenni Trent Hughes, Kathryn Apanowicz, Emily Symons, Anne Diamond, Denise Black, Kim Hughes, Sally Gunnell, Julie Peasgood, Lauren Booth, Jenni Murray, Lorraine Kelly, Tracy Shaw, Denise Welch, Heather Mills, Kate Garraway and Sheila Hancock.
Criticism and controversy
On 17 June 2008, comedienne Joan Rivers was a guest on the show and made an error by not realising that the show was completely live and not recorded.[4][5] She appeared to believe that the producers would "bleep" her swearing and said the words "fucking shit", referring to film star Russell Crowe, which subsequently went live to the public on ITV at approximately 1pm in the afternoon. The co-hosts immediately apologised for Rivers' outburst and during the commercial break she was asked to leave the set and not invited to come back for her final segment. A spokesperson for the show says, "Guests are always briefed that it is a live daytime show and are reminded not to swear or use inappropriate language. An editorial decision was taken that Joan Rivers should not appear in the final part of the programme. We would like to apologise to Loose Women viewers for the inappropriate language used on today's show." Rivers, for her part, finds it all quite funny. "I said: 'I apologise.' Everyone apologised. It was hilariously funny," she says. Joan adds that this was the first time she had been removed from a TV show in 40 years and she was "thrilled".[6] On 6 June 2008, the programme was criticised by British newspaper The Guardian as offensive and hateful to both men and women, for being sexist, and a case of feminism gone too far due to the concept of having a politically incorrect representation of an all-female cast of panellists, as well as the lecherous and patronising behaviour of the panelists. [7][8]
DVD releases
In late 2008, ITV released Let Loose: The Very Best Of Loose Women, a DVD featuring highlights of Series 12 and 13. The DVD is introduced by Jackie Brambles & Coleen Nolan, with Jane McDonald & Carol McGiffin giving an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the set at The London Studios. A second DVD was released in November 2009, entitled Late Night with the Loose Women. The extended programme features Andrea McLean, Sherrie Hewson, Carol McGiffin and Jane McDonald discussing raunchier topics than the television timeslot will permit, and includes appearances by guests Will Mellor, Rustie Lee and Christopher Biggins.
Awards
| Date | Ceremony | Award | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/09/2007 | TV Quick & TV Choice Awards | Best Daytime Show | Won |
| 19/03/2008 | Royal Television Society | Best Daytime Programme | Nominated |
| 25/06/2008 | TV Quick & TV Choice Awards | Best Daytime Programme | Won |
| 10/03/2009 | Television and Radio Industries Club | TV Daytime Programme award | Won |
| 07/09/2009 | TV Quick & TV Choice Awards | Best Daytime Programme | Won |
| 28/11/2009 | TV Times Awards | Favourite Programme | Won |
References
- ^ "LOOSE WOMAN: THE KAYE ADAMS COLUMN". Daily Record. 4 August 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article2413596.ece
- ^ Loose Women | Highlights
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/17/itv.television2?gusrc=rss&feed=media
- ^ http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs-old/celebs-front-page/2008/06/17/joan-rivers-taken-off-tv-s-loose-women-after-four-letter-rant-at-russell-crowe-115875-20610887/
- ^ "Yes, I swore and I'm so ******* sorry: Joan Rivers shows no remorse for her four-letter outburst on TV's Loose Women". Mail Online. 18th June 2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ "Is Loose Women hateful". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "The loose cannons of daytime TV". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
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External links
- Loose Women at itv.com
- Loose Women at IMDb