Two of the biggest stars on Loose Women have left the popular lunchtime show in chaos after refusing to appear following a row with ITV over their tax status.
Jane Moore and Janet Street-Porter told bosses they won’t join the panel after they were ordered to sign contracts saying they were permanent ITV employees rather than freelance journalists.
Ms Moore hasn’t taken part since December 29, while Ms Street-Porter – a MailOnline columnist and ex-editor of the Independent on Sunday – is also in a stand-off.
The row involves ITV’s new PAYE-only contracts policy, in response to HMRC’s so-called off-payroll working rules, after tax authorities said that TV presenters should not be able to use a ‘corporate veil’ to claim not to be staff.
HMRC says its off-payroll – or IR35 – rules ensure that a freelancer pays broadly the same income tax and National Insurance as an employee.
Ms Moore writes a column in The Sun newspaper and is interviewing Sharon Osbourne on her UK tour. The journalist, who also presents TV documentaries and writes novels, appeared on Loose Women ten times last December.
Sources at the show say its stars, who have been self-employed for more than two decades, insist ITV’s contract change is unacceptable.
One said: ‘Jane and Janet are furious. They have done such a lot for that show and they love it – but… they do different work across different companies and, as journalists, value their independent status. Things have got pretty tense. If it carries on, there might be a big change to the line-up.’
Sources say the contracts do not offer holiday, sick pay, or pension and forbid some work opportunities. Last year, panellist Carol McGiffin quit after refusing to sign the contract. Writing in Best magazine, she said ‘no one in their right mind’ would have agreed to it.
Kaye Adams, another Loose Women star, said she felt ‘utterly beaten up and gaslit’ after winning a ten-year tax battle in court with HMRC over IR35 rules. She even compared the ‘hostile’ treatment by the taxman with how the Post Office treated sub-postmasters in the Horizon computer scandal.
Former This Morning host Eamonn Holmes lost two HMRC appeals over whether he was freelance or staff at ITV. He reportedly had to pay backdated tax bills of around £250,000 and faced ‘hundreds of thousands in legal fees’.
But ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly won her battle against HMRC, as did Adrian Chiles – although he is now fighting an HMRC appeal.
A spokesperson for ITV said: ‘We don’t comment on individual cases but ITV ensures that it complies with and follows all HMRC guidance and legislation.’
A source added: ‘The changes were brought in last year and we are simply following the guidance that has been set out to us by HMRC.’
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
