Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha worries about 'brutal' changes
Nadia Sawalha has expressed her concerns over the recent changes at ITV.
Nadia Sawalha has been feeling "tearful" about budget cuts at ITV.
The 60-year-old actress has been a regular panellist on 'Loose Women', the daytime TV talk-show, for more than a decade, but Nadia has confessed to fearing for her future, after ITV announced a series of budget cuts.
Nadia - who previously starred on shows such as 'EastEnders', 'The Bill' and 'Casualty' - said on her YouTube channel: "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."
ITV recently announced that 'Loose Women' will be restricted to a 30-week run from 2026 onwards.
But Nadia really fears how the changes could impact people who work behind the camera at ITV.
The actress explained: "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."
As part of ITV's new plans, 'Lorraine' will now operate on a 30-week "seasonal basis", while a raft of shows will be broadcast from a new location in central London.
Kevin Lygo, the managing director of ITV’s Media and Entertainment Division, recently acknowledged that the broadcaster is going through a "transition".
He said: "I recognise that our plans will have an impact on staff off screen in our Daytime production teams.
"We will work with ITV Studios and ITN as they manage these changes to produce the shows differently from next year, and support them through this transition."
Kevin recognises that the changes might be painful for some staff members. However, he's convinced that the changes need to made in order for ITV to thrive.
He said: "Daytime has been a core element of ITV’s schedule for over 40 years and these changes will set ITV up to continue to bring viewers award winning news, views and discussion as we enter our eighth decade."
