ITV’s lunch time show Loose Women will not air for the next two days due to a major shift in the routine scheduling ahead of the upcoming Grand National this weekend

ITV have changed their scheduling ahead of the Grand National(Image: PA)

ITV has completely overhauled its daytime scheduling with one huge show being completely wiped from the airwaves. This week, the network are gearing up for the Grand National Festival at Aintree Racecourse on Saturday. On Friday, women will flock to the racecourse for the annual Ladies Day as they battle it out for the best dressed trophy.

But with the upcoming historic race, ITV have been forced to overhaul their regular transmission schedule meaning Loose Women, which airs at 12.30pm, will be coming off the airwaves for two days.

Instead, This Morning will be extended by half an hour, meaning that the show fronted by Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard will air until 1pm, rather than 12.30pm. ITV Lunchtime News will air at 1pm with a regional news update broadcasting at 1.20pm. When the regional news ends, ITV will cut to live coverage of the racing, which Ed Chamberlin will host for three and a half hours over the course of the three days. This is the second time in just a matter of weeks that Loose has been forced off the airwaves.

Loose Women will not air on Thursday and Friday(Image: ITV)
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Last month, the show was taken off air on March 26 due to a government update. Anchor Ruth Langsford revealed that the show wouldn’t be airing as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves was revealing the Spring Statement. Ruth told viewers: “We’ve got to go unfortunately! We’d love to stay for the afternoon…

“We’re not here tomorrow either because of the Spring Statement. I’m sure you’re all looking forward to that!” Mariella Frostup interrupted, asking: “It’s not called a Budget anymore?” Ruth explained: “No, it’s the Spring Statement tomorrow. We are going to be back on Thursday with Adolescence actor Mark Stanley.

“Hopefully you can join us then. Till then have a lovely afternoon, good bye!” Coverage of Reeve’s Statement started at 12:15pm and concluded at 1:50pm, running for an hour and 35 minutes. At the time, the TV guide stated: “What the Chancellor’s Statement means for households around the UK.”

Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard will present a longer edition of This Morning(Image: ITV)

Elsewhere, the show was forced off air for more horse racing between March 11 and March 14 due to the Cheltenham Festival. This week, the show reacted to the viral news over the weekend claiming that actress and panelist Denise Welch had gone missing following a hot air balloon ride.

A fake social media page issued a post claiming that Denise had gone missing and Kent Police had launched an investigation into her whereabouts. On Monday, Jane Moore teased that the show was lucky to have Denise on the panel. She said: “You had the nation in a little bit of a panic!”

Denise said she was enjoying a film on Saturday when a friend messaged to see if the article they had found about her was true. The Loose Women star said: “An hour later, she panicked, and I started getting messages going, ‘just checking you’re ok’. I thought, ‘what on earth are people talking about?!’”

After looking at the link her friend had sent, Denise explained the fake article read: “Denise Welch is worrying many of her fans that I’d gone missing in a hot air balloon over the Pyrenees and the Kent Police put out a thing that they were actively looking for me. Then the meme’s started.”

As the live audience was laughing about the whole ordeal, Denise said people created photos of her in the hot air balloon next to Mariah Carey. Meanwhile someone else created a fake Lady GaGa quote airing her concern. She said: “Then, it started trending in the US, where nobody knows me. There’s memes of Donald Trump being whispered to by his colleagues saying, ‘she’s still missing we need your help’. It was basically this massive story!”

However, Denise revealed she had no idea where the fake story had come from. Jane was curious to know what her family thought of the article, although their response wasn’t as concerned as her friends. Denise said: “My husband is in Singapore on business and my son lives in Los Angeles. They both apparently woke up to see, respectively, their mother and their wife missing over the Pyrenees in a hot air balloon and both went back to sleep