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Why is Loose Women not on this week and when is it returning?

Charlene White on Loose Women
Loose Women is taking a temporary break (Picture: Rex)

For many people across the nation, settling in to watch Loose Women at midday is part of their daily routine.

So you can imagine their confusion when the programme only aired on Monday this week, before disappearing from the ITV schedule.

ITV’s other morning talk shows – Good Morning Britain, Lorraine and This Morning – have been going ahead as usual.

So why is Loose Women not on this week and when is it returning?

Why is Loose Women not on this week?

The reason why Loose Women isn’t being shown for the remainder of the week is because it’s been replaced by this year’s Cheltenham Festival on the ITV schedule.

Stacey Solomon on Loose Women
ITV news and Cheltenham Festival has taken its place (Picture: ITV/REX)

The horse racing event, which dates all the way back to the mid-19th Century, is taking place this year from Tuesday March 16 until Friday March 19.

Coverage from the races is beginning every day this week from 1pm until 4.30pm.

The time of ITV’s lunchtime news has also been altered for the races, moving an hour earlier than usual to 12.30pm.

Last year’s Cheltenham Festival saw more than 250,000 racegoers attend, despite other sporting events being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The organisers of the event later defended their decision for it to go ahead, saying that they complied with government guidance at the time.

This year, there will be no fans in attendance at the racecourse.

Willie Mullins at Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse
There will be no racegoers at Cheltenham this year (Picture: David Davies/Jockey Club / PA)

When is Loose Women returning?

With Cheltenham Festival wrapping up on Friday, Loose Women will be back on Monday at its usual time slot of 12.30pm.

On Tuesday March 16, it was announced that Loose Women had won the accolade for Best Daytime Programme at the Royal Television Society Awards.

The time in October 2020 during Black History Month when Loose Women featured its first all-Black panel in its 21-year history was considered as part of its nomination for the award.

Loose Women returns next week, airing weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV.

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