Ex-Loose Women star Sherrie Hewson has said that the ITV chat show is "very different" from what it used to be, commenting on the show's changing sensibilities. Hewson, who was a regular on Loose Women from 2003 to 2016, made these remarks weeks after the departures of presenters Denise Welch and Nadia Sawalha. Welch left the series in August after 25 years with Loose Women, while Sawalha claimed she was "bullied" into leaving, alleging that ITV had temporarily axed her in July amid an "escalating campaign of smears, complaints, hostile media coverage and targeted calls to have me removed." Both departures come after budget cuts at ITV that reduced each episode from one hour to 30 minutes and eliminated the studio audience. Hewson noted that Loose Women is "a different show to what it once was." She recalled that during her time on the show, "we didn't have the problems we have now where you can't say that," and that "we just said what we thought." She mentioned that there were "real rows" with other panellists, but that they remained friends afterward, a dynamic she claims is no longer present. In its current form, Hewson said that presenters have "to be very careful, like everything on television now. You've got to be very careful what you say, how you say it." Sawalha’s departure has sparked controversy, as she has threatened legal action against ITV, alleging the broadcaster was "forever changing the goalposts" regarding her return after her absence in July. She also suggested that her support of Palestine was a factor in the "campaign" against her. In a video on Instagram, Sawalha said she had appealed to ITV’s hearts and minds but to no avail. She stated that after she began speaking publicly in support of Palestine in December 2023, she became the target of an escalating campaign of smears, complaints, and hostile media coverage. She added that ITV "couldn't guarantee they wouldn't take me off again, as it would depend on what was said, even though I’m hired for being an opinionated woman on a discussion show and I’ve never brought up or spoken about Palestine directly on the show." Another Loose Women panellist, Dame Kelly Holmes, responded to Sawalha’s post, writing: "This is just not right or just. I am so sorry, Nadia, no one can even begin to comprehend the 'fight' you must have been having behind the scenes. Thanks for sharing this. I had no idea. With you." Last week, panellist Charlene White said it had "been really difficult" to see her colleagues get "made redundant" amid the cuts at ITV, but that she finds it "wonderful" to make the show work in the midst of challenges. "It doesn’t matter what you throw at Loose Women, we will make it work," she said, emphasizing the show's ability to bring people together despite the difficulties. Ex-Loose Women star Carol McGiffin also commented on the show’s future, suggesting that ITV should end the program as it "seems to be in its final throes." She described the current version of the show as a "sad shadow of its former self," calling it "boring, strained, unfriendly and with too many rich, whinging women going on about the menopause or their terrible lives." She concluded that it's time to "let it go."