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ITV is about to make a huge mistake, and it's sending the channel barrelling towards certain doom. Today (April 27), after almost two months off-air, Loose Women is returning to its usual lunchtime slot at 12:30pm. At first, it looked as though things might be going in the right direction, with ITV slashing its scheduling and reducing the show to just 30 weeks per year instead of its usual 52.

But now it's back - for better or worse. Worse for sure, says former star Carol McGiffin, who has insisted Loose Women will soon be axed for good. She appeared on the panel between 2000 and 2013, returning from 2018 to 2023 when bosses "forced her out" - and now she's had her say after rumours flew that she would return to "save" the show.

Carol said: "I am definitely not going back, I am not thinking about it, I am not hoping to go back, I have not been asked to go back.

"It's nice that anyone would even think that someone could save that show and the fact that they think it could be me, I don't think so, I don't think that even I could." She said the show "has had its day" and fears things have been toned down to avoid upsetting viewers.

And therein lies the kicker - Loose Women has lost its edge. Whereas in the old days it would never pull its punches, now everything feels tentative, talked-around. It's a weakened echo of its former self.

Worse than that, it's boring. The same panellists are reused over and over, and their opinions have become predictable. I can already guess what Janet Street Porter or Coleen Nolan will say about a given topic before they even open their mouths. I know who will be offended at what, and why, and who will start an argument for argument's sake.

In my own experience, the one episode I'll never forget featured singer Jamelia insisting that stores shouldn't display plus-sized clothes or mannequins. This was probably more than a decade ago, and it left me unable to listen to any of her music afterwards, so incensed was I. Despite the anger I felt over her words as a plus-sized woman myself, I'll say one thing for the programme - I still remember it to this day.

Loose Women used to spark talking points. It used to host debates you'd think about for days, things you'd share with friends and family, and now... I can't remember the last time someone talked about it without moaning that it has become boring.