This Morning

This Morning
Current Logo.
Format	Entertainment
Presented by	Phillip Schofield Holly Willoughby Eamonn Holmes Ruth Langsford
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	22
Production
Producer(s)	ITV Studios
Editor(s)	Karl Newton
Location(s)	The London Studios
Running time	120 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV
Picture format	4:3 (1988 - 2001) 16:9 (2001 - present)
Original airing	3 October 1988 – present

This Morning until September 2009

This Morning is a British daytime television programme created by Granada Television and broadcast on ITV. It first aired from Granada's Albert Dock Studios in Liverpool on 3 October 1988. It features celebrity guests, entertainment, advice on health and well-being, competitions, cookery and more. The relaunched 22nd series launched live on ITV on 1 September 2009.

History

From October 1988 to July 2001, This Morning was presented by husband and wife team Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. At this time the show was very popular attracting around two million viewers daily. From time to time, during their own family holidays, they would be replaced for short stints by guest presenters such as Stephen Rhodes and Alison Keenan. Originally the show was broadcast from Liverpool, but for the beginning of the Autumn 1996 series it was relocated to LWT's Riverside Television Centre (Now the London studios) in London, coinciding with a housing relocation for Madeley and Finnigan and to secure more celebrity guests for the show. From 1998 onwards, Richard and Judy hosted only the Monday to Thursday editions, with regular guest presenters hosting on Fridays: during the tenth series Caron Keating and Ross Kelly presided, and from series 11 in 1999 Fern Britton and John Leslie were regular presenters of Friday's show. When Richard and Judy departed the series in 2001, they were replaced by Coleen Nolan and Twiggy, with Britton & Leslie remaining on Fridays. However, when Nolan and Twiggy proved less popular with viewers, Britton and Leslie took on the full job of presenting the show and brought the ratings back up to around one million. In 2002, after certain allegations were made in the press about his private life, Leslie was dismissed.

John Leslie was replaced by Phillip Schofield, developing an on-screen relationship with Fern Britton that was characterised by good humour and giggling.

Lorraine Kelly joined the team in 2003, to co-present with Phillip Schofield on a Monday and a Friday. This was to enable Fern Britton to spend more time with her family. Lorraine Kelly left This Morning in March 2006 to concentrate on her GMTV programme (GMTV with Lorraine), as well as to spend more time at home. Schofield and Britton presented the show from Monday to Thursday, whilst Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes took over the show on Fridays. The husband and wife duo also present the show during summer periods (since 2006) when main presenters Schofield and Britton took a break.

On 25 March 2009, it was announced that Fern Britton was to step down from the programme after ten years.

Fearne Cotton announced herself as the presenter replacing Britton while appearing on Keith Lemon's Celebrity Juice. This was later announced to be an April Fool's joke.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2009, the show had a major facelift and given a new feel with some new features introduced and some features axed. This coincided with the introduction of Holly Willoughby as replacement for Fern Britton and was the biggest relaunch the show has had in 13 years. Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford returned to present the programme for two weeks following the summer break in 2009. Schofield and Willoughby began presenting This Morning from Monday 14 September for the Monday to Thursday run, and Holmes and Langsford present as usual on Fridays and whenever the main presenters are on holiday.^[1] On 26 August 2009 it was announced Peter Andre would join the show as a reporter.^[2] On Monday 5 October, Richard and Judy returned to the show to help present the show's 21st anniversary. Fern Britton sent in a congratulatory video piece. In October 2009 Kate Thornton and Peter Andre joined the presenters

The show has been presented by one presenter only five times in its history. The first by Richard Madeley while Judy was ill with a cold. Three times by Fern Britton - in 2002 following the allegations against John Leslie, in 2008 when Phillip Schofield was absent due to his sick father, on 2 February 2009 when Phillip Schofield became snowed in at home and was unable to make it into the studios. On 23 March 2009, Fern Britton fell ill just before the opening of the show and Phillip Schofield presented the show alone.

The official website at itv.com was revamped in August prior to the show resuming broadcasting on 1 September 2009.

Awards

• "TV Quick Award" for Best Daytime Viewing (2003/2004).
• "National Television Award" for Most Popular Daytime Show (1999/2000/2004).

The team

Current presenters

Former presenters

Guest presenters

Experts and correspondents

Filming

Outside Studio 8 at The London Studios.

From 1988 to 1996 the show was broadcast from the Albert Dock in Liverpool. Shoppers and tourists were able to peer through the large window directly behind the presenters. Security guards, though, prevented prolonged exhibitionism. Fred Talbot presented the weather from a large floating UK map on the Dock (which was famously invaded by a streaker during a live broadcast). The programme moved to London in September 1996 where it would be easier to attract more celebrity guests. This was the same time presenters Richard and Judy moved their home to London. This Morning now broadcasts from Studio 8 at The London Studios on the South Bank which features large picture windows looking out over the River Thames. The windows that are seen on screen are real, to the disbelief of many American guests who expect it to be a projection. The windows do however have a silver coating on the outside to prevent people seeing in and also to prevent glare from the sun.

Notable moments

• A drunk Lily Savage throwing a wine glass into the river at Albert Dock.^[3]
• A streaker running onto Fred Talbot's weather map in 1995.
• The domestic abuse phone in, when a woman had been in a violent relationship with her partner, she announced to a stunned studio that her husband had locked her in the house. The show's agony aunt Denise Robertson asked for her name and address and offered to help her. The woman and her children were successfully liberated.^[4]
• Judy Finnigan breaking down in tears after Princess Diana's death and announcing the famous people who will be attending her funeral.
• Yana Rodionova getting hit in the head just 10 seconds before the end of a knife throwing act.^[5]
• After Phillip Schofield told Fern Britton that he didn't like dunking biscuits in his tea, she later responded with "but you don't mind dunking a bit of beef do you?" after Schofield said he enjoyed the roast beef they were tasting once he dipped it in a dijon sauce. Fern's remark ended up with them laughing uncontrollably.^[6]
• Kerry Katona slurring her words and kept denying that she was drunk. She claimed that it was her medication that caused this.
• Judy Finnegan answering the question "what would you want to do if the world was ending?" with "I'd want to have another baby as soon as possible; and if I couldn't have one I'd have to try and steal one".

References

External links

• This Morning at itv.com
• This Morning at the Internet Movie Database
• This Morning on Twitter