GMTV which replaced TV-am ran for an incredible 17 years!
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Welcome to the ITV Breakfast Television Wiki |
ITV Breakfast Television is the shows TV-am, GMTV, Daybreak and Good Morning Britain spin-off shows that have been broadcasted on ITV. It's rival is BBC Breakfast and since 1st February 1983 (when TV-am was first broadcast) every weekday these shows have provided us with a mix of news, entertainment, showbiz, food, fashion, sport and fun to brighten our morning! This wiki is free for anyone to add and edit articles.
TV-am[]
TV-am was a TV company that broadcast breakfast television in the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 until 31 December 1992. The station was the UK's first national operator of a commercial Breakfast television franchise. Its daily broadcasts were from 6am to 9.25am. While the BBC's Breakfast Time was a huge success, TV-am's early ratings were very disappointing. Its high-minded and somewhat starchy approach, summed up in chief executive Peter Jay's phrase "mission to explain", sat uneasily at that time of day, and was easily upstaged by Breakfast Time's sure-footed and accessible magazine style, which effortlessly mixed heavy news and light-hearted features (famously moving cabinet ministers, after a serious interview, to help with a cookery demonstration).
Peter Jay was forced to resign when he refused to dismiss some of his star presenters. His replacement, British politician Jonathan Aitken, fired Angela Rippon and Anna Ford and threatened to dismiss Michael Parkinson (whose weekend show was the only success the station was having, largely because the BBC did not broadcast on weekend mornings). All three had given support to Jay on air, which infuriated the station's management. David Frost was moved from the main show as part of the shakeup. Angela Rippon was not a hit with viewers, who complained when she was 'rude' and 'belittling' to sports presenter Nick Owen. Anna Ford refused to be moved, leading to her dismissal and when she encountered Jonathan Aitken at a party some months later she threw her glass of wine in his face. Their replacements were Anne Diamond (1983–1992) and Nick Owen (1983–1986). Greg Dyke was brought in as director of programmes, and slowly ratings improved. To save money the show spent the summer on the road, in a show coming from various seaside resorts and presented by Chris Tarrant.
A notable gimmick introduced at this time was the puppet Roland Rat; this attracted large audiences of youngsters and pushed up overall viewing figures. The low audiences brought financial problems. The company was close to having its power supply disconnected: a London Electricity official arrived during a press conference with a warrant to cut off power for non-payment. Elsewhere, a local newsagent stopped supplying the station with newspapers for the same reason. The cost-cutting was brought sharply into focus in the Brighton hotel bombing on the British Cabinet in 1984. The night before the terrorist attack, TV-am sent the production team home as they could not afford to pay for hotel rooms. When the blast occurred in the early hours, the BBC and ITN provided immediate coverage. TV-am's response was limited to a caption of reporter John Stapleton reporting over the phone (as seen here from TV ARK), while the BBC were showing graphic coverage of the attack.
Trade union agreements at the time meant that technical staff at the local ITV station TVS would not provide cover for another commercial television company, and TV-am's previous conflicts with ITN meant that the latter would not share their footage with them. The whole affair earned the company a severe rebuke from the IBA, who told the company to invest and improve their news coverage, or they would lose their license. In 1984 Australian business tycoon Kerry Packer took a substantial minority interest in the company, and in May appointed his own Chief Executive, Bruce Gyngell, who had run Australian networks and previously worked in the UK for ATV in the 1970s, and later ran Yorkshire Television. Greg Dyke left to take a new position with TVS, but Gyngell pursued the same lightweight, populist approach that Dyke had forged to establish the station's viability, a model parodied later in a Guardian newspaper headline as 'Snap, Crackle and Pap'. The station began the children's Saturday morning programme Wide Awake Club, which gave Mike Myers his first regular television work, having been spotted at the Edinburgh Festival. In an echo of the changes which had occurred in newspapers, Gyngell was determined to make use of technical developments in television in order to reduce staff and save money. He believed that the ease of use of modern video-recording and other broadcasting equipment meant that staffing levels could be reduced: ENG crews would no longer require a separate lighting technician (following a pattern familiar in Gyngell's native Australia), and technical personnel could be virtually eliminated.
This brought him into conflict with the broadcasting trade unions, but gained him support from Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her government. In 1987 technical staff at the station went on a 24-hour strike. Management locked out the strikers, but stayed on air using non-technical staff to broadcast a skeleton service including (among other things) episodes of the American series Flipper, Batman and Happy Days; while secretaries manned cameras, Gyngell himself directed the show. Although shambolic at times, this schedule turned out on occasions to be more popular than former programming (although not what they would have been be allowed to broadcast under any other circumstances).[citation needed] In the hurricane-force storms that hit England in October that year electrical power to TV-am's studios was lost and an emergency programme had to be transmitted from facilities at Thames Television's Euston Road centre, using reports from TV-am's own crews and those of ITN, TSW and TVS. All this withstanding, the programme continued to thrive.
Eventually, Bruce Gyngell fired all of the strikers, replacing them with non-unionised labour from around the world. In the years that followed, the station gradually found its feet again, and by the early 1990s, operating with a significantly reduced staff, it was the world's most profitable TV station in terms of turnover. During this period the station became the most popular breakfast television service in the UK, as the BBC's Breakfast Time lost viewers. In 1989 the BBC replaced the magazine-style Breakfast Time with a more in-depth and analytical news format called Breakfast News, reminiscent of TV-am's original format. In 1990 changes in broadcasting law meant that commercial television franchises were no longer allocated on merit or potential but rather through a blind auction, the results of which were made public on 16 October 1991. TV-am bid £14.3m, but were outbid by another consortium, Sunrise Television (which changed its name to GMTV when it launched), which had bid £36.4m. Ironically, in the years following GMTV's launch, the group approached the ITC to retrospectively obtain a reduction in this fee, reducing it to a level below TV-am's original bid. By February 1992 the first on-screen effects of the license loss became obvious, with TV-am closing its in-house news service and contracting it out to Sky News for a one-off payment. Children's programming also suffered, with fewer appearances of Timmy Mallet, and 'Wacaday' replaced by 'Cartoon World' on Saturdays from 8am (extended to 7.30am later in the year). Margaret Thatcher, whose government had introduced the change to the allocation of commercial television franchises (but who had by then been replaced as Prime Minister by John Major), famously wrote to Bruce Gyngell, apologising for being partly responsible for the loss of the TV-am's licence. It read, in part: "I am ... heartbroken. I am only too painfully aware that I was responsible for the legislation." The letter was private but Gyngell made it public, which drew criticism from friends of the former Prime Minister. The station's final broadcast ended on 31 December 1992 at 9.21am. Credits over a black-and-white still of the station's cast and crew in the studio showed snapshot of their portraits as the screen faded ending with the caption: TV-am: 1 February 1983 - 31 December 1992.This was then followed by a final commercial break in which there was no final appearance by the famous eggcups, although they made their last appearance on Wednesday 30 December 1992.Instead the final commercial was for GMTV. At 9.25am the other franchise-losers, TVS, TSW and Thames, began their final day's schedules and were replaced at 12 midnight by Meridian, Westcountry and Carlton respectively. The next day of GMTV began at 6am. Their opening studio segment included a tribute to TV-am in the form of a painting similar to their ident visible on the set behind the presenters.
GMTV[]
GMTV won the license for the breakfast ITV (TV Network) franchise in 1993. The first edition of GMTV was broadcast on 1 January 1993, presented by Eamonn Holmes and Anne Davies. Its main weekday presenters at the launch were Fiona Armstrong and Michael Wilson (Monday - Thursday), broadcast from Studio 5 at The London Studios on the South Bank. Within six weeks of broadcasting, the station had lost 2 million viewers. Greg Dyke was appointed chairman of the GMTV board and tasked with of overhauling the station format, which included "more popular journalism". Greg Dyke had refused to endorse any of her programming strategy for GMTV. Her replacement was Peter McHuge. By March 1993, following continued poor ratings, Wilson had moved to present a new "news-focused" slot from 6 to 7am (which in 1994 became the "Reuters News Hour"). Fiona Armstrong continued to co-present with Eamonn Holmes until 12 March 1993,when her departure coincided with a revamp of the main programme, including a new set that mimicked that of TV-am. Penny Smith became the main newsreader, joining from Sky News. Within the first six months, GMTV reported £10 million losses - double that which was initially budgeted for. In early September 1993, GMTV approached the ITC regarding the possibility of decreasing its quota of news. The ITC said: "They [GMTV] will have to put forward a strong case for changing the license based on the viewers' preferences". The request was denied, and by the end of 1993 the ITC issued a formal warning for its "unsatisfactory performance". A final warning was given in May 1994; GMTV would face a £2 million fine unless standards improved. The ITC acknowledged that considerable improvements had taken place up to the start of 1994, but its news bulletins continued to be "unsatisfactory, and initially top short to cover depth or authority", adding: "its current affairs and children's material did not meet the aspirations... As part of the package to rectify the issues, Barney & Friends, an American children's television series was introduced, in addition to the Reuters News Hour and an upmarket Sunday morning programme. By September 1994, GMTV had achieved high enough standards to avoid the fine and for the first time, had made a profit. In July 1994, Anthea Turner joined GMTV to present along with Mr. Motivator "Fun in the sun" summer holiday features, before being paired up with Eamonn Holmes to present the main programme shortly afterwards. Turner left the station on 24 December 1996, after a dramatic falling out between the pair, which finally resulted in Holmes publicly calling her "Princess tippy toes". In November 1998, GMTV finally received a windfall: the ITC reduced the amount the station had to pay to the treasury from £50 million to £20 million - the most dramatic reduction of all the licenses. The ITC believed this would allow GMTV the money to invest in more programming. GMTV continued to strengthen its output, receiving further praise from the ITC in its Annual Performance Review of 1999: "The overall programme quality improved... This led to increased audience share for GMTV among adult viewers. The ITC praised GMTV's greater emphasis on overseas coverage and access to key figures in the news, particularly for live interviews. Social action programming was particularly successful. In Sunday programming for adults, where there is scope for better background and analysis to key political stories alongside the major interviews, and in information content in programming for school-age children". During 1999, STV Group held talks into buying out the other shareholders in GMTV, with Disney believed to be keen on the idea. By September, an agreement had been reached to acquire Guardian Media Group's 15% stake for £20 million, but both Carlton and Granada objected to the deal. Guardian Media Group concluded in selling off its 15% stake in GMTV for £18 million in January 2000, with all three companies receiving 5% - allowing the four remaining stakeholders to have an equal 25% stake in the company. In October 2003, STV made public its interest in acquiring Carlton and Granada stakes in GMTV. Andrew Flanagan, chief executive: "We would be interested in buying GMTV. STV believed having a controlling stake in GMTV would allow an effective command against the newly formed ITV sales department. SMG said: "[We] are pulling out of GMTV because it did not want to hold a minority interest in someone else's media business". In 2005, presenter Eamonn Holmes left the station. It was later exposed he was deeply unhappy with the "dumbing down and commercialisation", which resulted in him hating his bosses. A major overhaul of GMTV output took place during the summer of 2008 - resulting in part from the loss of viewers to new competition from other digital channels, and to counter criticism its output had become too lightweight. ITV and Disney agreed a £4.5 million investment to modernise the production of the show, including new equipment such as Avid editing suites. In July 2008, it was announced that McLean would quit working on GMTV to focus on her role on Loose Women, to share the permanent host job with Jackie Brambles. On 21 December, Andrea left GMTV after eleven years as a weather presenter. Fiona Phillips left GMTV on 18 December 2008 after twelve years as its main presenter. attempted to buy out Disney's stake in GMTV following it gaining 75% control, in order to secure 24-hours control of Channel 3 in England and Wales, eventually paying £18m for the remaining 25% on 26 November 2009.The editor of GMTV, Martin Frizell, was sacked in December 2009, with Sue Walton temporarily replacing him. On 4 March 2010, it was announced that presenter and newsreader Penny Smith was leaving GMTV with presenter John Stapleton being redeployed as special correspondent. Smith presented her final broadcast on 4 June 2010. Also announced on 4 March 2010 was political correspondent Gloria De Piero's decision to quit GMTV in February 2010 to stand as a Labour Party Parliamentary candidate. On 6 March 2010 GMTV Kids presenters Jamie Rickers and Anna Williamson were made redundant they appeared for the last time on the show in May 2010, meaning no presenter links between programmes in the Toonattik strand. In early April 2010, there was speculation that Eamonn Holmes and Kate Thornton were in the running to present the new revamp show. On 19 April 2010, it was announced BBC presenter Adrian Chiles was quitting his roles with the corporation, to join ITV plc. on a six-year contract, co-presenting on GMTV and casting doubt over the futures of incumbent male hosts Andrew Castle and Ben Shephard. On 21 April 2010, it was confirmed that Ben Shephard was leaving GMTV after 10 years, after earlier telling management he would not be renewing his contract. On 7 May 2010, it was announced that former The One Show editor Ian Rumsey would take editorial control of the show from June 2010, with Paul Connolly as his deputy, taking over Sue Walton's temporary placement, as she moved to tackling GMTV with Lorraine's move to a new standalone show. On 10 June 2010, it was confirmed that Andrew Castle would leave GMTV after 10 years. On 10 June 2010 ITV plc. announced that they would be dropping the GMTV brand name from the breakfast franchise in favour of a relaunched format later in 2010. On 20 June 2010, ITV plc. announced that Christine Bleakley would join Adrian Chiles as lead female host, after signing an exclusive three year deal to present on the breakfast slot, and other prime-time entertainment shows. The pair had worked together on the BBC's The One Show. On 9 July 2010 it was confirmed that the new ITV plc. breakfast show name from 6 September 2010 would be named Daybreak and that GMTV with Lorraine is set to become a standalone show with the title Lorraine and GMTV Limited was being rebranded ITV Breakfast Limited. On 20 July 2010 it was confirmed that Kate Garraway would move from a presenting position on GMTV to the role of entertainment editor on Daybreak. Other members of the team moving over from GMTV were confirmed as John Stapleton continuing in the role of special correspondent, Dan Lobb as Sports editor, Dr. Hilary Jones becoming health editor and Richard Gaisford continuing in the role of Chief Correspondent. On 20 July 2010 Richard Arnold and Carla Romano, after 10 years with the company, announced that they would be leaving the show to pursue their careers elsewhere. On 1 August 2010 Emma Crosby confirmed that she would not be part of the new show. GMTV with Lorraine aired for the last time with Myleene Klass presenting on 2 September 2010, whilst GMTV came to an end with Andrew Castle and Emma Crosby presenting on 3 September 2010.
Daybreak[]
The decision to replace GMTV with Daybreak followed the full takeover of GMTV by ITV plc. Daybreak and Lorraine made up the weekday output of ITV Breakfast. At weekends, children's programming fills this slot. An advertising campaign, promoting the new show, started on 23 August, with short break-bumpers in between the start and end of an advertisement break, broadcast during the evening schedule of ITV1. Adverts featuring presenters Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley were broadcast throughout the day from 31 August 2010. Chiles and Bleakley presented The One Show on BBC One together for nearly three years before leaving in 2010 to join ITV. The first edition of Daybreak was broadcast on 6 September 2010 with ex-hosts Chiles and Bleakley introducing viewers to the new set and admiring the view from the window. It included an interview with Tony Blair and a lead story by John Stapleton on the collapse of the Farepak Christmas savings club in 2006. Views of regional locations around the United Kingdom were broadcast as well as a tour of the studio. The press offered a mixed reception to the first show. In March 2011, ITV announced that it was incorporating Daybreak into its ITV News operation as part of a management restructure. In July 2011 it was announced that production of the show, along with that of sister programme, Lorraine would be taken over by ITV Studios. As the show approached its first anniversary on air, it was announced that its editor, Ian Rumsey had resigned. In August 2011, This Morning executive Karl Newton was being charged with the transition to ITV Studios and is revamping the show to give it "one last throw of the dice" to boost its ratings. On 2 September 2011, ITV announced that former BBC Breakfast chief, David Kermode, currently editor of 5 News is to take over as editor of the programme from 1 December 2011, heralding a major revamp to the presenting team and the format. On Tuesday 6 September 2011, the show celebrated its first anniversary on air. On 8 December 2011, Paul Connolly the deputy editor of Daybreak departed from the programme. On 12 December 2011, it was reported that Daybreak will target 'hassled mums' as part of its refreshed focus, format changes and a new presenting team were expected to be introduced in April 2012; however these plans were delayed.On 26 April 2012, it was reported that ITV was to move Daybreak to the studio currently used by sister programme Lorraine. On 4 May 2012, Aled Jones and Lorraine Kelly were confirmed by ITV as the new permanent presenters, Jones said "I am thoroughly looking forward to sharing the sofa every morning with such a consummate professional as Lorraine Kelly." On 28 May 2012, Ranvir Singh announced she was leaving BBC North West Tonight to join Daybreak, where she will present the first hour of the programme. On 11 June 2012, 5 News presenter Matt Barbet was confirmed as Singh's co-presenter. On 28 August 2012 it was confirmed Singh would become the newsreader following the first hour of the programme, BBC Weather presenter Laura Tobin joins the programme. Kate Garraway will present Daybreak Fridays and cover for full-time host Lorraine Kelly in a new two-year contract. On 28 August 2012, the new Daybreak logo was unveiled. The revamped format was launched on 3 September 2012, this was greeted with a hostile reaction from viewers on social media, with newspapers reporting that viewers reacted negatively to the "old fashioned" garish set. Like the first edition of the show, the relaunched format led with a report on the state of school buildings. Despite the changes to the ailing format, the first edition of the new look show drew only 600, 000 viewers. Despite these ratings Daybreak continued and has even reached highs of 1,000,000 viewers however one year on after the relaunch Daybreak still struggled behind it's rival BBC Breakfast. Due to this it had been announced that the last edition of Daybreak would be broadcast on April 25th 2014. Due to these changes Matt Barbet was the first presenter to say goodbye to Daybreak ahead of the Good Morning Britain launch. Then Lorraine Kelly left on 10th April 2014. On 25th April 2014, Daybreak ended with presenters Kate Garraway and Aled Jones.
Good Morning Britain[]
Good Morning Britain is the replacement for ITV Breakfast's Daybreak. Since Daybreak replaced its previous show GMTV in 2010, it had experienced poor press, low viewing figures and harsh criticism for the duration of its three-year run. The programme struggled to pull in viewers, despite undergoing numerous relaunches and production changes. Rating-wise, it was attracting less viewers than its predecessor and was being constantly in the ratings beaten by BBC Breakfast. As a result, Daybreak was eventually axed, with the early morning time slot being occupied by Good Morning Britain in April 2014. Following the conclusion of Daybreak, presenter Aled Jones now presents Weekend from Saturday–Sunday, whilst Lorraine Kelly now hosts Lorraine full-time. 6–7am 'news hour' presenter Matt Barbet left Daybreak with his last appearance airing on 4 April 2014, and has since returned to 5 News where he previously presented.[citation needed]. Barbet's 'news hour' co-presenter and Daybreak newsreader Ranvir Singh is now a part of the Good Morning Britain team, acting as a relief presenter, presenting the programme on Fridays, as well as filming feature reports. Former BBC Breakfast Susanna Reid was announced as the presenter of Good Morning Britain on 3 March 2014. It was later revealed that Reid's co-hosts would be former GMTV presenter Ben Shephard, Sky News Sunrise presenter Charlotte Hawkins and Sean Fletcher, who was a presenter for Sky Sports News before joining the GMB presenting team. ITV released the first promotional trailer for the programme on 26 April, with official studio pictures on 27 April.
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The first commercial breakfast television show launched on ITV in February 1983