Alan Carr Takes Swipe at Loose Women Over ‘Desperate’ NTA Voting Push as Denise Welch Confirms Exit

Alan Carr has taken aim at Loose Women, branding the ITV programme’s efforts to encourage viewers to vote for it at the National Television Awards “a bit desperate.”

The long-running panel show has been nominated for Best Daytime at this year’s NTAs, where it will compete against This Morning, Good Morning Britain, James Martin’s Saturday Morning and Scam Interceptors. The ceremony is due to take place at London’s O2 Arena on September 8.

But Carr, 50, was less than impressed by what he described as repeated on-air reminders encouraging viewers to back the programme.

Alan Carr Calls Out Loose Women’s NTA Campaign

Carr discussed the show’s approach during the latest episode of his Bottoms Up podcast with comedian Lee Peart.

“Do you remember when Loose Women are nominated for an NTA, every day, every ad break?” Carr said. “I mean, a bit desperate.”

He quickly made clear that his criticism was directed at the promotional tactics rather than the programme itself.

“I’m just saying, we all love Loose Women, but a bit desperate,” he added.

Peart, who previously worked as a warm-up act on the ITV programme, then recalled being asked to encourage audience members to vote.

“When I was their warm-up they asked me to go out before the show, to get people to vote, on the phones,” he said. “I said, ‘this isn’t my job, I’m not doing it.’”

Denise Welch Announces Departure After Nearly 25 Years

Carr’s comments come during a period of significant change for Loose Women, with longtime panellist Denise Welch announcing that she is stepping away from the programme.

The 68-year-old explained on Instagram that she wanted to devote more time to acting, which she described as her “first love” and the area in which she believes she is at her best.

“I’m leaving Loose Women after the best part of 25 years, off and on,” Welch said. “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.”

Welch said she had accumulated “wonderful, wonderful memories” during her time on the programme but felt the moment had arrived to pursue new opportunities.

“At the moment, I’m having the most wonderful opportunities coming my way and I’m grabbing them by the you-know-whats and running with it for this new chapter of my life,” she explained.

Welch Reflects on Sharing Her Life With Viewers

Welch also thanked viewers who had followed her through the many years she appeared on the daytime show.

“I’ve shared my life with you — the good, the bad and the ugly,” she said. “I’m very marmite but I cherish all the comments, good or bad, that I’ve had over the years.”

Despite leaving the programme, Welch stressed that she intends to remain close to her former colleagues.

“I’ll miss everybody but I will remain friends with the whole gang because, despite what you might read, we are a happy band of campers,” she said.

Her announcement came only days after another longtime Loose Women figure, Nadia Sawalha, spoke publicly about her own departure from the programme.

Nadia Sawalha Claims She Was Removed From the Line-Up

Former EastEnders actress Sawalha has claimed she was removed from Loose Women after expressing pro-Palestinian views and said she planned to take legal action against ITV over what she believes was her treatment.

Sawalha told the Mirror that she believed she had been targeted for speaking publicly about Palestinian rights.

“I accept that there is a huge risk I will never work in television again,” she said.

She also claimed colleagues had privately offered their support but were reluctant to do so publicly because of concerns about their careers.

According to Sawalha, two prominent ITV figures reacted to an Instagram video in which she discussed her threat of legal action, but she later deleted their reactions because she did not want them to face consequences.

“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,” she said.

Sawalha added that she did not believe ITV’s head of daytime wanted her removed from the programme, saying: “I feel for her.”

Against that backdrop of departures and controversy, Loose Women now heads into the September 8 National Television Awards with a nomination for Best Daytime — and, according to Carr, a particularly determined campaign to secure viewers’ votes.