Alan Carr Brands Loose Women 'Desperate' Over NTA Votes

Comedian Alan Carr has taken a swipe at Loose Women, branding the ITV daytime talk show "desperate" over its repeated appeals for audience votes for the upcoming National Television Awards.

The show is nominated for Best Daytime Show at this year's ceremony, competing against Good Morning Britain, This Morning, James Martin’s Saturday Morning and Scam Interceptors in the category.

Speaking to comedian Lee Peart on their Bottoms Up podcast in a clip shared to TikTok this week, Carr gave his opinion on the programme's campaign to drum up support from viewers following the recent exit of his friend Denise Welch.

"Remember when Loose Women are nominated for an NTA, every day, every ad break, I mean, a bit desperate," Carr said on the podcast. "I’m just saying, we all love Loose Women, but a bit desperate."

Loose Women is a long-running British daytime television talk show broadcast on ITV, featuring a panel of female presenters discussing current affairs, celebrity news and personal stories. The National Television Awards are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognize popular television programming, with winners decided through public voting.

Audience Voting Campaign

Peart, who previously worked as a warm-up act on Loose Women, agreed with Carr's comments and recalled being asked to encourage studio audience members to vote prior to filming.

"I agree. You know, when I was their warm-up, they asked me to go out before the show to get people to vote," Peart told Carr.

Carr, whose own show Changing Ends is also nominated for a National Television Award, queried whether staff "physically forced them to vote?"

Peart responded: "On the phones. I said, this is not my job, I won’t do it."

Carr insisted that he still has love for Loose Women, though his remarks regarding the campaign tickled fans on TikTok. Carr is an English comedian and broadcaster known for hosting chat shows such as Chatty Man and performing stand-up comedy across the UK.

Denise Welch Exit

Carr's comments come shortly after his friend Denise Welch quit Loose Women after 26 years on the programme.

Last week, Welch, 68, shocked fans when she announced her decision to step down from the show to focus on acting work, having been offered a string of roles in recent months. Welch first appeared on Loose Women in 2000 before becoming one of its most recognisable faces, making her final appearance on June 29.

In a video shared on Instagram, Welch explained that she decided to step down to focus on wonderful opportunities coming her way. Welch is an English actress and broadcaster who has previously starred in television series including Coronation Street and Waterloo Road.

"I'm leaving Loose Women," Welch said in the video message. "After best part of 25 years, off and on, I did leave for about seven years and went back in 2018. This show has been a part of me and my family's life for nearly a quarter of a century."

"I have the most wonderful, wonderful memories and it's just that acting has always been my first love and I think the thing I'm best at, and at the moment I'm having the most wonderful opportunities coming my way," she continued. "I'm grabbing them by the you know whats and running with it for this new chapter of my life."

Addressing viewers, Welch added: "So I just wanted to say that in person to thank all of the people who have shared my stories with me, I've shared my life with you, the good, the bad and the ugly. I'm very Marmite, but I cherish all the comments good or bad that I've had over the years and I just hope you wish me well for this new and exciting chapter in my life."

Paying tribute to her fellow panellists, Welch insisted that despite claims of behind-the-scenes tensions, they were a "happy band of campers" and that she would remain friends with all of her co-stars.

"I'll miss everybody but I will remain friends with the whole gang because... we are a happy band of campers. Anyway lots of love, thanks for sticking with me," she said.

Welch recently starred in the Channel 4 drama Tip Toe and is set to star in an adaptation of Graham Norton's novel Forever Home. Norton is an Irish television presenter, comedian and novelist.

A spokesman for Loose Women said: "Denise has been such a brilliant part of the Loose Women family and we are going to miss her hugely on the show. We are sending her all of our love and best wishes for her next chapter."