The official GMTV Thread

Interesting half term schedule on GMTV next week...

Penny's back but Eammon and Fi-ona and Lorraine are having a week off.

06:00 The News Hour with Penny Smith (Mon: Kate) and John Stapleton
07:00 GMTV Today with Kate Garraway and Andrew Castle
08:25 Up on the Roof

Notice the kids slot, its fairly rare for GMTV to do this, they have been known to before but not every holiday, maybe just October half term?

EDIT: Just had a look through some old listings and October half term IS the only time GMTV show kids programmes like this throughout a week (excluding Bank Holidays etc). Last October they started at 8.05am. Cashing in on those pre-xmas adverts no doubt.

I feel sorry for Penny and John, they are the only two that are always there on the morning, and the most hard working, and never seem to get anytime off, at least when I turn on. Especially as they have to get up an hour earlier than the rest, look good for it though!

Do Eamonn and Fiona EVER do any work? They always seem to be having time off. No wonder Eamonn is a lardbucket!

Yeah last half term wasn't that bad for Children, as not only did GMTV have an hour and a half of children's programmes, including the new He Man that I watched, and then ITV also scheduled an hour of CiTV every morning of the week with Star (that I think was a great series, and can't understand why it wasn't recommissioned), and Seriously Wierd (again another great series, yet they've commissioned Barking?, it's never going to be the new Woof!). Though this could have been due to anything, perhaps the Rugby World Cup taking over weekend mornings, so they were owed time.

But it was quite a good idea as ITV was picking up all of the children that had watched GMTV, and then went on with Trisha and a This Morning hour special compiling of clips from the past year.

Speaking of Lorraine Kelly, how long has she been presenting this morning?. Has Fern left?

Since September, and only 2 days a week, and Fern is still there! Thank goodness!

Eamonn and Fi-ona are doing even less work now as they seem to have reduced down to a three day week. They did 4 days until the first week of November

Last week and this week it's been Andrew Castle and Penny Smith on Thursdays and Fridays.

Next week John Stapleton seems to be taking a well earned break (unless he's on London Tonight duty) so its Andrew Castle on the News Hour all week with Ben Shephard on GMTV Today on Thursday and Friday

No doubt with Penny filling in for Kate whilst she's off ill. Hopefully she will be back for Christmas.
Why don't GMTV use anybody else, like Carla Romanna to fill in for Kate?

And as others have bought up Christmas, hopefully we will get some good Christmas Cheer as always. It will be interesting to see how they decorate the studio, hopefully they will do more than the trees, but maybe they won't. I'd like to see a nice Christmas main ident (like the snow flakes last year, though they now use the presenters, it will be interesting to see what they do, hopefully they'll drop the presenters idents, as long as they DON'T drop the 1998+ and maybe lovely GMTV Christmas music. Plus maybe some loveley Christmas today titles I wouldn't mind if they added snow like last year with a dark background like last year, though who knows what they'll do.
And I'd take a guess that it will be happening two weeks on Monday!

Anyone know where Kate Garraway has got to, she hasn't been on for ages?

Last Thursday we had the very unusual line up of Eammon Holmes and Penny Smith which was interesting, and possibly how it should be permanently!

I missed that one, did they get on alright?

a bit OT, but Lorraine was on RTE's The Afternoon Show yesterday. I think she should have a show like that becouse the one on GMTV is a bit naff, imo

I do like the Eamonn & Penny mix. If it was Penny instead of Anne in 1993, it may have stuck like that forever.

Though perhaps Eamonn & Penny is only good as it doesn't happen a lot.

As for Kate, I presume that she's still off ill.