Most shocking Loose Women moments of all time as show in turmoil – from ‘rapist sympathy’ and ISIS shock to flashing
IT HAS been on air since 1999 and weathered its fair share of storms.
But Loose Women has been further thrown into turmoil after ITV’s Daytime division announced brutal cost-cutting measures.
To make matters worse, the 26-strong line-up had been left in the dark about the cuts to their lunchtime talk show, which will take effect from January.
None of hosts – including big-hitters Coleen Nolan, Christine Lampard and Gloria Hunniford – had been warned it will be shrunk to screen “seasonally” for 30 weeks of the year.
The old guard, some of whom have been on board since day one, are said to now fear they will be left scrambling for shifts.
That’s while the PR-friendly younger panellists like Love Islander turned documentary-maker Olivia Attwood, influencer Grace “GK” Barry and Saturdays singer Frankie Bridge are allegedly set to clean up.
A source at ITV HQ said: “The tension is unbearable. There’s a lot of rage towards This Morning, which everyone feels is constantly favoured despite it being the lame duck of the daytime flock.
“The infighting is a feverish time-bomb which executives are desperate to defuse. ITV Daytime could combust from the inside out at this rate.”
But like we all know, it’s not the first time that there’s been unbearable tension among the Loose ladies, particularly on-screen.
Fabulous takes a look at the most shocking Loose Women moments to ever be aired…
‘Rapist sympathising‘
Telly presenter Judy Finnigan, 77, joined Loose Women in 2014 and was thrown into the deep end on her first day by a discussion about Welsh footballer Ched Evans launching an appeal against his conviction for rape, which he was eventually found not guilty on appeal in 2016.
The Richard and Judy star left viewers shocked when she said: “The rape was not violent, he didn’t cause any bodily harm to the person.”
Following public outrage, she apologised in statement saying: “I absolutely wasn’t suggesting that rape was anything other than an horrendous crime and, as I said on the programme, I was in no way attempting to minimise the terrible ordeal that any woman suffers as a result.
“The point I was attempting to raise as part of the debate was what should happen to someone after they have committed a crime and served their time?”
The C-bomb
The most offensive language must not be broadcast on television before the 9pm watershed.
But 47-year-old Katie Price’s eldest child, Harvey, broke that rule in 2016 when he joined the panel to discuss being told on social media.
Asked what he would say to someone who made negative comments about him, Harvey, then 13, replied “Hello you c***.”
His mum quickly reacted with a shocked, “erm, Harvey!”, while presenter Andrea McLean apologised to viewers for his bad language.
Gay rights row
In 2015, Coleen Nolan causes uproar when she weighed in a Christian bakery that made headlines for controversially refusing to decorate a cake with a message supporting same-sex marriage.
The 60-year-old defended the owners, saying: “If you went in somewhere and they said two days later ‘we don’t want to make your cake because of our beliefs’, you’d just never go back to that shop and tell all your friends to boycott it.
“What if somebody walked in and said ‘I want a cake with Islamic State on it and how I support it and how I support them killing our people’ – and because it’s a business would they have to make that?”
Fuming viewers called for the panellist to be sacked and demanded she make a public apology, but neither of those calls were actioned.
Potty-mouth rant
The late Joan Rivers was famed for blunt, and often controversial, comedic persona – which is exactly what she brought to the Loose Women panel in 2008.
The potty-mouth comedian launched into a rant when she was asked about meeting Hollywood stars on the red carpet.
She said: “You get someone like Russell Crowe, and you want to say to the camera ‘He is a piece – get ready to bleep this – of f***ing s***!'”
Joan’s fellow panellists had to apologise on her behalf, with Jane McDonald adding: “We haven’t got a bleeper. We’re live!”
Fat shaming
Loose Women viewers were left furious today as Janet Street-Porter ‘fat shamed’ Wayne Rooney in 2022.
The presenter, 78, was discussing the footballer’s recent court appearance as part of the ongoing Wagatha Christie trial – and said he was about to “explode” out of his suit.
Janet commented: “Have you ever seen Wayne Rooney looking so smart? Wayne has been ordered by his wife to shape up, fit into that suit and my goodness it looks like he is about to explode out of it any minute.”
Those watching at home were unimpressed by her comments and took to X (formerly Twitter) to slam her as “vile”, with one penning: “Imagine if she was saying that about a woman?”
Rampant rabbit
Coleen Nolan stunned audiences in 2016 when she revealed she fell asleep while using a sex toy that her friend had bought her.
The 60-year-old made the startling confession while discussing “bedroom boosters”, and said she’d had too much to drink when she nodded off while attempting to have a go with a Rampant Rabbit.
She said: “Me and Ray had a bit of a row and I thought ‘well I don’t need you, because I have my friend’. I went into the spare room and got friendly.
“But what happened was – and I am not joking at all – I fell asleep because I had a couple of glasses of wine and I am not good with drink, so I fell asleep it was the annoying buzzing that woke me up.”
Bum flash
Katie Price left jaws on the floor as viewers tuned in to watch Loose Women in 2016 and saw the mum-of-five flashing her backside during a holiday wear segment.
She sported a revealing green and black polka dot number with a high leg split.
As the former glamour model, 47, paraded around, she showed off a little bit more flesh than was probably advisable for the ITV show’s daytime telly slot.
Viewers were less than impressed with some dubbing it “awkward viewing”. That being said, others took to social media to gush over her “amazing” figure.
Kim Woodburn storming off
Kim Woodburn stormed off the Loose Women set in 2018 after being reduced to tears by “lying trash” Coleen Nolan, whom she’d clashed with in the Celebrity Big Brother house 18 months prior.
Walking off the show, the 83-year-old shouted: “I wouldn’t want to sit and talk with lying trash. She’s a horrible person. You are trash, you’re a piece of filth!”
It was sparked by Coleen whispering under her breath that Kim was “going to cry in a minute”.
The bust-up saw 3,297 furious viewers ringing up Ofcom to complain, with Kim later telling The Sun that she felt as though she had been ambushed.
Coleen and the Loose Women team said they had ‘genuinely hoped for a reconciliation’.
Nose job ‘bullying’
Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby vowed never to appear on Loose Women again after she claimed she was “bullied” over her nose job.
The 35-year-old appeared on the lunchtime panel show in May 2016 and was left squirming in her seat as she was questioned over her cosmetic surgery.
During the appearance – which was branded awkward by some viewers – Charlotte was forced to defend herself against the panel , in particular feisty Janet Street-Porter, 78.
The conversation quickly turned sour when Janet wanted to know if the reality TV star thought she was setting the right example for her young fans.
The presenter asked her: “What message does that send to teenage girls who watch your show, follow you on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, who might think, ‘My nose has a lump in it but I haven’t got four grand to spend’?”
Speaking about the experience, she told new! Magazine in an angry rant: “I’ve been on Loose Women and it was a horrible experience. I cried before and afterwards, that’s why I wouldn’t go back on. It was awful. I was bullied. I’m never going on again in my life. I hated it.”