'Maybe it's just because it's rubbish...' Former Loose Women star Carol McGiffin criticises ITV's daytime shows
Carol McGiffin thinks ITV daytime shows, such as Loose Women, This Morning, Good Morning Britain and Lorraine, are "rubbish" as she blasts the broadcaster for reportedly drafting in influencers to get more viewers watching the morning and early afternoon offering.
Carol McGiffin thinks Loose Women and other ITV daytime shows are struggling because they're "rubbish".
The 65-year-old broadcaster appeared on the talk-show on-and-off from 2000 until 2023, and she blasted the broadcaster's bosses for reportedly looking to bring in influencers to get more viewers watching the likes of Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women.
Speaking in a recent episode of Dan Wotton's Outspoken podcast, Carol said: "They can stand there and say, 'The reason that we're suffering is because of online TV, people don't watch TV anymore, they go online for news or entertainment or anything, or streaming services.'
"Maybe it's just because it's rubbish and they just aren't very good at it anymore. They don't consider that.
"When I went back to Loose Women, I thought, 'This is great, we might be able to make Loose Women great again.' But it just proved completely impossible.
"And sometimes, if I've ever seen anything on This Morning or on YouTube or whatever, you just think, 'This is ridiculous! This is not popular. This is not what people want.'
"But they really don't know what people want, and they tell them what they want all the time and they give it to them and force it down their throats.
"That's probably why.
"A lot of young people never watch television. The fact that ITV thinks, 'If we get all these young influencers on, everyone's going to start watching daytime TV,' is just ridiculous."
Carol's attack comes in the wake of her former panellists - which included Nadia Sawalha, and Kaye Adams - being shocked by ITV's budget cuts, which will see over 220 jobs be axed, as well as Loose Women being aired for 30 instead of 52 weeks of the year from 2026.
Nadia broke down in tears in a video on her YouTube channel earlier this month about people losing their jobs, and she revealed: "I could be let go tomorrow or in five years, we're not employees."
Meanwhile, Kaye said in a recent episode of her How to be 60 podcast that she has "had sleepless nights" since ITV announced its budget cuts.
Carol feels "really bad" for those who will lose their jobs, but Carol does not believe those panellists who think their career is over if Loose Women ends.
Carol explained: "The Loose Women are apparently raging about it - I haven't spoken to any of them about it. They are like, 'We were kept in the dark.'
"They never know what's going on. Loose Women is the poor relation so is suffering the most.
"I do feel for them, but I don't buy into this, 'All their worlds have fallen apart because this show has ended.'
"Hang on a minute - what did you expect? Did you think it was just going on forever? Especially in the way it is."
