Why has Loose Women turned into Loose Men today?
An all-star line-up of men will be sitting at the Loose Women panel today.
Those tuning in to Loose Women this morning expecting the show's regular stars are in for a surprise as sat behind the panel will be four male celebrities, hosting a brand new special episode of Loose Men.
In honour of Mental Health Awareness Week, the ITV panel show is bringing back Loose Men and encouraging viewers to speak to the blokes in their lives about mental illness, with Richard Madeley, Jordan Banjo, Robert Rinder and Martin Kemp covering all sorts of topics.
Loose Women introduced its first all-male panel in the show's history back in November last year and now Loose Men is returning with a different line-up of celebrities, who'll be discussing male body confidence, whether flirting is cheating and social media.
But why is Loose Men back for another episode? Here's everything you need to know about today's special.
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Why is it Loose Men instead of Loose Women today?
ITV's Loose Women is transforming into Loose Men once again today, coinciding with Mental Health Awareness Week and marking the next phase of Loose Women's Stand By Your Men mental health campaign.
Stand By Your Men encourages viewers to talk about mental health with the men in their life as research shows that only 34 per cent of men feel comfortable speaking to a loved one about their feelings despite one in eight battling mental health difficulties.
Today's special episode follows Loose Women's first all-male panel last November, which saw Iain Stirling, Ronan Keating, Marvin Humes and Roman Kemp host the show in honour of International Men's Day.
Who is presenting Loose Men?
Anchoring the Loose Men panel today is broadcaster Richard Madeley, while panellists such as Diversity's Jordan Banjo, TV judge Robert Rinder and Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp will be joining him behind the desk.
Speaking about chairing the special episode, Madeley said in a statement: "After the success of the first Loose Men I jumped at the chance to anchor the next instalment. It's no secret that men find it harder than women to speak about our emotions so I'm looking forward to finding out what happens when us guys open up about things we usually shy away from."
Martin Kemp added: "I always love being on Loose Women and I can't wait to get on the Loose Men panel to give my opinions on the stuff that really matters."
Robert Rinder said that he's looking forward to joining his fellow panellists on the show to "discuss the topics that are closest to our hearts" during Mental Health Awareness Week, while Jordan Banjo added: "I'm a big fan of the Loose ladies but I'm excited to turn the tables and see what can happen when the men are in charge!"
What will the Loose Men be talking about?
Today's episode of Loose Men will see the all-star panel open up about mental health and tackle topics such as male body confidence, whether flirting is cheating, bullying and recent loss.
Martin Kemp is set to talk about his time as a popstar, revealing that he felt his appearance was always under the microscope. "When I was 17 I was in the band, so I was always aware of how I looked. But I think nowadays we are so much more health conscious and body aware than we ever have been," he says on the show.
While Jordan Banjo adds that he faced the same pressures as part of Diversity, saying: "I've always been quite a big dude. Compare me to the other boys, all they've got to do is sneeze and they get an ab. I looked at a slice of cake and it was like I gained a stone.
"At first it was difficult, you’re part of the biggest dance group in the country, you’re young and to be blunt I felt like a bit of a fraud.”
Robert Rinder speaks about social media's impact on body confidence on the show, saying: "There's something we need to talk about as well which is resilience and giving people who comment on your body image your absolute aggressively undivided indifference.. bullying is always about the bully and I think we need to talk about that."
Richard Madeley adds that even older men feel pressure about the way they look, speaking about backlash he received when people thought he'd dyed his hair and trending online after a fake tan mishap on Good Morning Britain: "It was very funny. But the point is, it got column inches over accidental take tan!"
Loose Men airs Thursday 13th May at 12:30pm on ITV and ITV Hub. Take a look at our other Entertainment coverage, or find out what else is on with our TV guide.
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