An era has come to a close on ITV's Loose Women as the show's beloved warm-up act, Lee Peart, has made his final appearance. Peart, who has been entertaining the studio audience since 2017, is departing after show bosses made the decision to axe the live audience from the new year.
An Emotional Farewell on This Morning
Peart's last week on the ITV daytime schedule began with a special send-off during Monday's edition of This Morning. In a poignant gesture, he was given the honour of hosting the live competition segment, a job normally reserved for presenters like Jeff Brazier or Kate Lawler.
Reporting live from an ice rink at Warwick Castle, the funnyman skated while delivering the competition details, marking his imminent and permanent departure from the show he has been a part of for eight years.
A 'Bittersweet End of an Era'
In the lead-up to his final day, Peart has been sharing emotional updates on social media, bidding farewell to the panellists he has worked alongside. Earlier this month, he described the situation on Facebook as a "bittersweet end of an era."
He posted, "Two weeks today will be my final Loose Women!... the goodbyes are starting as it’s the last time I’ll work with Ruth, Gloria and Kellie in this capacity!" Panellist Denise Welch recently confessed she felt "so sad" about his departure, a sentiment echoed by Nadia Sawalha, who first revealed the news of the audience axe in a YouTube video back in July.
New Ventures and ITV's Daytime Shake-Up
Fans of Lee Peart need not despair, as he is launching an exciting new project in 2026. He is teaming up with his pal, Celebrity Traitors winner Alan Carr, for a brand-new wine podcast titled Bottoms Up!.
The podcast promises to blend entertaining chat and gossip with practical wine insights, aiming to demystify the world of wine for listeners. "We're trying to demystify it for people," Lee explained during a recent appearance on Lorraine.
His departure coincides with wider changes to ITV's daytime lineup. From January, both Loose Women and Lorraine will air for just 30 weeks of the year, rather than all year round, and will be reduced to 30-minute episodes. While no on-air stars are losing their jobs, they will appear less frequently due to the reduced number of episodes.
