Inside all of ITVs cuts to huge shows as channel faces | UK News

ITV has introduced a sweeping overhaul of its programming schedule as the broadcaster battles a mounting financial disaster. A significant reshuffle was revealed at the moment that will have an effect on flagship shows Lorraine and Loose Women, while ITV bosses introduced cuts to Emmerdale and Coronation Street back in February.

From January 2026, Lorraine will lose its long-standing hour long slot. The programme, which is fronted by Lorraine Kelly, will now air from 9.30am to 10am. Its airtime has been slashed in half, and the discuss show has also been restricted only being broadcast 30 weeks of the 12 months.

This means stand-in presenters such as Christine Lampard and Ranvir Singh will no longer be needed during Kelly’s absences, as the show gained’t broadcast during those weeks.

During the 22 weeks Lorraine is off-air, Good Morning Britain will lengthen its run until 10am, including an further hour to its schedule.

As half of the shake-up, GMB can have its present 6am to 9am slot completely prolonged until until 9.30am. Production will also shift away from ITV Studios to ITN under a renewed five-year settlement.

While This Morning will still be broadcast from 10.30am to 12.30pm, Loose Women is being scaled back. The lunchtime panel show will now air seasonally for just 30 weeks a 12 months.

These huge adjustments to ITV’s common daytime schedule have sparked concern for members of the manufacturing workforce whose jobs are at risk. Insiders have confirmed that while on-screen expertise is anticipated to keep, some workers will probably be made redundant as a consequence of the restructuring.

Kevin Lygo, Managing Director of ITV’s Media and Entertainment Division, defined: “Daytime is a really important part of what we do, and these scheduling and production changes will enable us to continue to deliver a schedule providing viewers with the news, debate and discussion they love from the presenters they know and trust, as well as generating savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres.”

These cost-cutting measures have prolonged past daytime tv. Earlier this 12 months, ITV confirmed that Coronation Street and Emmerdale will probably be slashed from six episodes per week to just 5 half-hour instalments in January 2026. The beloved soaps will probably be streamlined into a nightly “soap power hour”, with Emmerdale airing at 8pm adopted by Corrie at 8.30pm, Monday to Friday.

This choice means there will probably be an hour much less cleaning soap content material each week, and around 75 jobs are anticipated to be cut across both productions. Bosses admitted roles in writing, crew, and solid have been under review in February.

Redundancy talks have been also underway at that time, and workers have been knowledgeable about the upcoming cuts. Emmerdale’s double episodes on Thursdays and Corrie’s bi-nightly format will probably be scrapped completely under the new construction.

ITV has insisted that the change will make the soaps more “streaming-friendly” and help protect their longevity. At the time Lygo stated: “We are conscious this will have an impact for the people who work on the soaps team. We will support our colleagues in ITV Studios as they work through these changes and will do what we can to mitigate the impact on our people.”

The dramatic overhaul comes amid mounting hypothesis ITV might unload elements of its empire, as the broadcaster is reportedly contemplating provides for its ITV Studios division, which is home to Love Island and Rivals.

While ITV bosses have been tight-lipped, during final week’s AGM chairman Andrew Cosslett admitted that “conversations are being had” and the broadcaster should take any provides severely.