Loose Women stars boycotted the National Television Awards on Wednesday evening after years of losing out to rivals This Morning amid the show’s looming budget cuts.

Regular red-carpet attendees including ITV veterans Ruth Langsford, Nadia Sawalha, Kaye Adams, Coleen Nolan, Jane Moore, and Denise Welch were all absent last night despite the series being nominated.

Last year, at least 12 members of the Loose Women cast attended the NTAs in the hope of winning the Daytime Award but after The Chase scooped the accolade, many of the panel decided they would no longer go, to avoid further humiliation.

The show was represented at the glitzy event, held at London’s O2 arena by Olivia Attwood, Frankie Bridge, Linda Robson, Katie Piper, Charlene White and Kéllé Bryan, just half the number of panellists who turned up in 2024.

Now sources close to the show have told the Daily Mail that the lack of attendance was deliberate, with many presenters not in the mood to celebrate as staff behind the scenes face job losses.

A show insider said: ‘Throughout the years, the NTAs has been very well attended by the Loose Women presenters, it’s one of their favourite nights of the year to all get together but this year a lot of them decided not to attend.

Loose Women stars boycotted the National Television Awards on Wednesday evening after years of losing out to rivals This Morning amid the show’s looming budget cuts

Last year, at least 12 members of the Loose Women cast attended the NTAs in the hope of winning the Daytime Award (pictured 2024)

The show was represented at the event by Olivia Attwood, Frankie Bridge, Linda Robson, Katie Piper, Charlene White and Kéllé Bryan, half the number of panellists who turned up in 2024

‘The truth is, the panellists are sick of always missing out to This Morning in the Daytime category, it has become humiliating for them over the years.

‘This Morning and Loose Women are always up for the Daytime Award, whereas Lorraine and Good Morning Britain are rarely nominated. 

‘There is always a sense that ‘this could be the year’ when the presenters attend the NTAs, as they truly believe they deserve a win.

‘Last year they felt sure that the award would be theirs after This Morning lost presenters Phil and Holly, so when The Chase won instead, they all felt very disappointed.’

They added: ‘Of course, many of the panellists don’t really feel like celebrating right now, they are months away from having the show’s budget slashed and many in production set to lose their jobs.

‘It just didn’t feel right for many to attend a big, red-carpet event in the midst of all this sadness.’

Loose Women hoped to win the Daytime Award last year after This Morning was hit by controversy following Phillip Schofield’s sacking, which eventually led to Holly Willoughby standing down, but they were still beaten to the accolade. 

Since then, things have only worsened for the long-running TV show, after it was announced that next year it will be reduced from airing 52 weeks of the year to just 30, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

The Daily Mail has contacted a spokesperson at Loose Women for comment. 

This Morning scooped the Daytime Award at the ceremony on Wednesday night, beating Loose Women

Olivia Attwood presented the award for Factual Entertainment as well as supporting the Loose Women panellists

The new series of Olivia’s Bad Boyfriends kicks off on Sunday and some of the new cast walked the NTAs red carpet ahead of their TV debut

Stacey Solomon attended the NTAs because her two shows Sort Your Life Out and Stacey & Joe were nominated and she also received a nod in the TV presenter category

The Daily Mail also revealed that the program will no longer feature a live studio audience or celebrity guests due to limited resources.

Stacey Solomon, who insists she hasn’t quit Loose Women despite appearing on the show only twice in the past two years, lost out at the NTAs after being nominated three times.

It was a family affair for the mother, who attended the ceremony with her five children, and husband Joe Swash, but unfortunately they weren’t victorious on the night.

At last night’s NTAs, sponsored by haircare brand Giovanni Cosmetics, one of the show’s exclusive backstage partners, Ant & Dec lost out on Best Presenter to Gary Lineker for the first time in 23 years.  

The duo were absent from the ceremony as they were filming the All Star series of I’m A Celeb in South Africa and they, along with the Loose Women cast, weren’t the only stars notably missing from the night. 

Traitors host Claudia Winkleman was absent from the ceremony despite her show being nominated in the Reality Competition category.

The Strictly presenter usually attends the ceremony alongside co-star Tess Daly, who also skipped the event this year.

And while Gavin & Stacey scooped Best Comedy, co-creator James Corden wasn’t at the awards, as were stars of the show Mathew Horne and Joanna Page.