Alan Carr has criticised Loose Women for its apparent push to secure votes after the ITV show was nominated for a National Television Award. The comedian made the remarks on the Bottoms Up podcast, days after panellist Denise Welch confirmed she was leaving the programme.
NTA nomination and vote drive
The daytime panel show is nominated in the Best Daytime category for the ceremony at London's O2 Arena on September 8, competing against This Morning, Good Morning Britain, James Martin's Saturday Morning and Scam Interceptors.
Carr, 50, took aim at producers for encouraging viewers to vote by including daily reminders during broadcasts. Speaking on the podcast with comedian Lee Peart, he said: "Do you remember when Loose Women are nominated for an NTA, every day, every ad break? I mean, a bit desperate."
He added: "I'm just saying, we all love Loose Women, but a bit desperate."
Peart's account and Welch's exit
Peart, who began his career as an assistant on the show, recalled: "When I was their warm-up they asked me to go out before the show, to get people to vote, on the phones. I said, 'this isn't my job, I'm not doing it.'"
The comments came after Welch, 68, confirmed she was stepping down to focus on her acting career. In a video shared on Instagram, she said: "I'm leaving Loose Women after the best part of 25 years, off and on. I did leave for about seven years and went back in 2018. This show has been part of mine, and my family's life, for nearly a quarter of a century."
She described acting as her "first love and, I think, the thing I'm best at," adding that she was "grabbing them by the you-know-whats and running with it for this new chapter of my life." Welch thanked viewers who had shared her stories, saying: "I'm very marmite but I cherish all the comments, good or bad, that I've had over the years."
Sawalha's claims
Her departure came after Nadia Sawalha spoke about her own exit. The former EastEnders actress claimed she was removed from the line-up after voicing pro-Palestinian beliefs and planned to sue ITV over her treatment. She told The Mirror: "I accept that there is a huge risk I will never work in television again."
Sawalha said she deleted a video about her threat to sue because she did not want colleagues to be "phased out," adding: "I feel sad that there is an atmosphere of fear that if they were to be seen to be supporting me, their career could be at risk."
