Kate Thornton and Zoe Tyler dropped from Loose Women

11th July 2011

0Comments | Comment on this Article

'Loose Women' stars Kate Thornton and Zoe Tyler have been dropped from the panel, with stars including Carol Vorderman and Dawn French in talks to take over.

Kate Thornton and Zoe Tyler have been sacked from 'Loose Women'.

The presenters have been axed as part of a huge shake up of the ITV daytime programme after viewing figures slumped, while the future of comedienne Sarah Millican - who joined the show earlier this year - is also said to be in doubt.

Over the last few months there has been a bit of a downwards trend with ratings, and it's important to address that issue as quickly as possible - we're hoping some big new stars could excite viewers.

A source said: "With a show like Loose Women, it's important to keep refreshing the feel of the programme to keep viewers interested.

"Over the last few months there has been a bit of a downwards trend with ratings, and it's important to address that issue as quickly as possible - we're hoping some big new stars could excite viewers."

Zoe - who has been on the show for four years - and co-anchor Kate will no longer be part of the panel when the show returns in September, and Caroline Aherne, Dawn French, former 'Coronation Street' actress Sally Lindsay, Caroline Quentin and Carol Vorderman said to be in talks to take over.

The source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We've whittled the list down to five potential panellists who are all big names and very popular with viewers.

"They've all got different personalities and senses of humour, it's important to get the dynamic right across the panel.

"Hopefully, a couple of seriously big names can put a stop to the decline, and these would be the perfect candidates for that."

Lisa Maxwell, Carol McGiffin, Denise Welch Andrea McLean and Lynda Ellingham have all signed new deals to stay on the show.