BBC Breakfast

You can criticise the set, camera angles, presenting line-ups (if you really must) but it's the exact same programme with the exact same content and agenda. No one can argue otherwise. Most normals would suspect they had simply gained a new home within TVC.

To purport that they changed channel at the mere sight of two unfamiliar non-London weirdos would be to approach Digital Spy levels of idiocy and their sentence-like outbursts should be treated as such.

I can think of a shorter, 2-word retort I'd be inclined to offer them in response.

You're right, Jonny. My mum and I are regular viewers of Breakfast - at least one of us will see the programme each day. Both of us had reservations about the programming moving to Salford because we thought it would inhibit guest choices etc. However, we've been very pleasantly surprised. Most of the political interviews are done DTL just as they were when at TVC . It was very rare for a politician to grace the sofa in person even in London and I suspect if someone like the Prime Minister wanted to appear on the programme they'd make the effort to get to Salford. The move to Salford also hasn't inhibited the programme after 8:30 either. They've had a good selection of guests in that slot since the re-location. Moreover, there has actually been a positive impact of moving to Salford - we've noticed that a lot of the experts/commentators are now from organisations in the north west. It's about time someone other than academics from London universities/charities/hospitals etc appeared on national television, so I think the change has been for the best in that regard. To say that the programme needs 'reviving' by moving back to London is total crap and like you say Jonny, it's merely people having a tantrum because that's just the way they are.

I think the point about Roger and Fiona being unknowns is rather comical when you take into account the array of weekend presenters we've had over the years. How come they weren't complaining when the likes of Rageh Omaar and Martine Dennis would step in 10 years ago?

My vote (if I had one) would be to move Susanna Reid back to proper news where, from YouTube and itsrobert's collection of World/N24 clips, she's clearly much better, and add Fiona Armstrong to the main programme. Above anything, she's got one of those key factors any morning news host should have - warmth. From what I've seen she's also got the balance right between lively and energetic without being giddy.

I must admit she's far from my favourite 'relief' presenter on the BBC News Channel, but she was really good this morning. Roger too wasn't bad - like others I'm not a huge fan, but as a relief presenter he could be OK. Would prefer to see him fill in for Sally or Mike on sport than as a main presenter, though.

That was the most shameless load of flirting I ve ever seen at 650am.
Shes nearly old enough to be his mother!

It was cringeworthy to watch, never mind the fact I couldn't turn over as Daybreak were doing the same thing, and Sky on ads.

What happened to Catriona Shearer on air this morning during one of the BBC Scotland bulletins?

On twitter she said she had a migraine and couldn't get the words out

Ah, the way I read SomeRandomStuff's original sentence, I interpreted "older" in the sense of "earlier/previous" rather than "of greater age"! Hence my reply being what it was.

Slightly off topic but I never knew the likes of Rageh Omaar and Martine Dennis ever made appearances on weekend Breakfast. What other presenters have made unusual/last minute appearances on Breakfast over the years? Tim Willcox, Chris Eakin, Emily Maitlis, Geeta Guru-Murphy, David Eades and Adam Parsons spring to mind. What others have there been?

In the very early days it seemed to be treated pretty much like any other bit of News 24 (certainly it took them a long time to modify the format to be more like the weekdays) so quite a lot of News 24 "faces" turned up as weekend cover, especially before 2001/2 when the BBC1 and 2 weekend slots were fixed.

Dan, I really don't recall any of those doing Breakfast before. Although, one imagines that Adam would be rather good at it. Being his agent, haven't you tried to push him through? LOL.

Surely Breakfast could do a bit of roaming during the Summer months, just to break things up a bit? Why not have Bill and Susannah do the show from Glasgow on an odd Friday. Perhaps Cardiff another. Jersey another. Belfast another. And so on.

Or do the technicalities of newsgathering, etc, make it a bit too tricky to do?

Of all the BBC National News programmes that exist, surely Breakfast is the one which most lends itself to getting out amongst the people. Not just a random OB, but the entire shebang. Lock, stock and barrel, for one day a month.

Expensive? Can't be too expensive, as the BBC already has studios and production staff in all of the aforesaid locations.

Chris Eakin, Emily Maitlis, Tim Willcox and David Eades all made appearances on weekend Breakfast in 2005ish. They only actually appeared once or twice so that's maybe why you don't recall them doing it. As a matter of fact, Emily Maitlis, along with Jane Hill used to make occasional appearances on the sofa during the week with Bill Turnbull in the 2003-05 era. Joanna Gosling and Julian Worricker are two more presenters who randomly popped up on Breakfast, this time in 2006. I don't think Geeta Guru-Murphy, as a matter of fact, has ever made an appearance on Breakfast, although I think she presented Weekend 24 occasionally in the early 2000s. As for the amiable Adam Parsons, he presented a Sunday edition with Naga Munchetty just last summer!

And I believe, Maxine Mawhinney presented a desk-bound edition back in 2004 with Sian Williams, although I could be completely wrong on that.