Saucy, sexy, controversial, chatty and fun - and that's just ME! No, only joking. That's how I would describe this TVprogramme. Loose Women is on ITV1 Monday to Friday from 12:30pm to 1:30pm. There are four women presenting each show which are gathered from a pool of various actresses, presenters, singers and so on.
Kaye Adams is usually the 'team leader' of the four with Coleen Nolan (the baby of the Nolan Sisters) and Carol McGiffin (Chris Evans' ex-wife) normally there too. The others who regular appear are Sherrie Hewson (used to be Maureen in Coronation Street), Jane McDonald (singer), Alison Hammond (previous Big Brother contestant, now a TV presenter), Denise Welch (actress), Sue Jenkins (actress and Richard Fleeshman's mum!) and Sheree Murphy (actress and
footballer's wife). Kate Garraway stands in for Kaye when necessary.
On the surface, this looks like any other daytime TV show for women of a certain age. When I first started watching it, it was accidental. I'm a housewife and it follows This Morning, so I had just left the telly on. But I soon got hooked.
So what's different about Loose Women? Well, I find it starts really good debates and discussions which throw up interesting topics every day. Topics covered recently have included whether we should give money to beggars, whether rich businessmen should be urged to donate to charity and whether you have a right to discipline other people's children.
The women are all outspoken and not afraid to say what they think, even if it's not PC. Some of their comments make me very angry, especially Carol's as she comes across as quite anti-kids. I usually find someone I agree with on the panel though, typically Kaye Adams or Sue Jenkins, whose views seem the closest to mine.
In-between discussing topical issues, the show has interviews with various celebrities, viewer's comments, fun things and usually a musical item. I love the repartee the women have and how they all poke fun at each other. They really seem very close and their relationships come across well and involve the viewers. It almost feels like you're included in a good girlie gossip.
They often talk about quite personal things too - such as Denise Welch's marriage to Tim Healy and what Coleen Nolan really thinks about her ex Shane Richie. This also helps you to feel involved as though you are privy to rather intimate information.
The women are a variety of ages. Sheree Murphy is probably the youngest (IMDB.com tells me she was born in 1975) with Sherrie Hewson the oldest (1950), so being 37 myself, I feel I can relate to most of the team and understand their concerns.
They have a good selection of guests too. Admittedly I find some of them rather dull - like Daniel O'Donnell - but most of the interviews are well done and often bring out a fun side to the guests that isn't usually shown on more serious chat shows. They had the wonderful John Barrowman on recently and other guests including Enya, Ronan Keating, Billy Zane, Jimmy Osmond, Duncan James (ex-Blue), Patsy Palmer, Shobna Gulati and Christopher Biggins.
Some of my favourite parts of the show are the light-hearted elements. They had a feature on sexy hubbies lately with viewers sending in pictures of their partners bearing their chests. They also had a doggy matchmaking feature, which resulted in Sherrie Hewson's dog marrying a viewer's pet live on the show.
Some of the jokes are directed at Carol McGiffin, who is very opinionated and a bit of a loudmouth. She has a penchant for alcohol and apparently hasn't had a lover for years, so many of the gags and teasing are based around that. I usually find myself laughing at loud during the show and it is very good for cheering you up and allowing you to forget your worries for an hour.
So who wouldn't enjoy the programme? Well, most men, to be honest and probably kids. My teenage daughters have seen it occasionally and have enjoyed it though. But it is definitely aimed at women aged between thirty and seventy, I would say and the studio audience seems to reflect this demographic well.
There is an official website for the programme too at www.itv.com/loosewomen where you can read more about the presenters, watch video clips (including the doggy wedding!), vote in the daily poll and catch up on what you've missed.
The only real downside to the programme is that it is on ITV1, so there are the ad breaks to endure. Even worse, the programme is sponsored by Sheila's Wheels, so you get to see those annoying adverts involving three women in pink sat in their car. Grrrrr! They even feature on the website too…
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Advantages: Effective decimation of unnecessary brain cells Disadvantages: By watching it, you're directly contributing to Jeremy Kyle's smugness fund.
SweetBerryJam 12.11.2009 ·
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