Despite the fact that she's done it many times before, and continues to do it on BBC Breakfast?
I don't get your bias against BBC presenters. Fiona Phillips is twice as vacant upstairs as half the presenters on the BBC network (or at least appears it), and Ben Shepherd is seemingly the definition of male auto-cutie.
Looks like you and me are on the same wavelength noggin!
John Stapletounge could successfully fill three and a half hours with "er", because this phrase alone makes up the majority of his sentences.
I was almost going to put that on my last message, pre-empting suggestions that the bumbling old man was any good. The fact he hasn't moved very far from breakfast tv since it began in 1983 seems to back me up.
Come on, John Stapleton is one of the few credible presenters GMTV has. When I have a day off, and if I am up for 6am, I'd put GMTV Newshour on. John Stapleton and Penny Smith are, by far, the best pairing and switch off by 7am especially when Terrible Fiona is on.
From what the previous correspondent wrote, The Stapler has presented several evening programmes. The one I liked [when John and Lynn Faulds Wood presented it] was Watchdog around 1989/1990 time. I remember my childhood naiviety when I used to find current affairs programmes and news bulletins scary. Good times.
...pre-empting suggestions that the bumbling old man was any good. The fact he hasn't moved very far from breakfast tv since it began in 1983 seems to back me up.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
He is one of the most sought after current affairs presenters in the business. The fact he doesn't do more work has a lot to do with the fact he's been there, done that, been shot at, and is over 60.
Trust me, when I say you're an idiot for suggesting otherwise, I really mean you're an IDIOT OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.
While GMTV may not be 3 and a half hours of breaking news, it has to always in a position of being so. It owns it's own airtime, so from 6 to 9.30, it is the sole broadcaster on ITV1 - no throwing over to ITN and hoping for the best.
Hence, the presenters have to be able to talk about Corrie and X-factor - water-cooler stories, and know why the large hadron collider is broken, as well be able to talk to witnesses about the explosion in Pakistan. Kate Silverton may tick some of the boxes, but she would fall down flat in others. Not to mention she has the personality of shoebox and the front-line experience of a Cardiff graduate.
While GMTV may not be 3 and a half hours of breaking news, it has to always in a position of being so. It owns it's own airtime, so from 6 to 9.30, it is the sole broadcaster on ITV1 - no throwing over to ITN and hoping for the best.
Hence, the presenters have to be able to talk about Corrie and X-factor - water-cooler stories, and know why the large hadron collider is broken, as well be able to talk to witnesses about the explosion in Pakistan. Kate Silverton may tick some of the boxes, but she would fall down flat in others. Not to mention she has the personality of shoebox and the front-line experience of a Cardiff graduate.
An idea I know quite a lot of people on here won't like, but if thats what presenters have to do then why not put Jenni Falconer on the sofa, and pair her up with Andrew? Andrew could then take the lead on more serious stories, with Jenni taking the lead on the lighter stories? It wouldn't look as awkward as it currently does. The same could be applied to a Kate/Ben pairing with Kate being the lead on the serious stories.
...pre-empting suggestions that the bumbling old man was any good. The fact he hasn't moved very far from breakfast tv since it began in 1983 seems to back me up.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
He is one of the most sought after current affairs presenters in the business. The fact he doesn't do more work has a lot to do with the fact he's been there, done that, been shot at, and is over 60.
Trust me, when I say you're an idiot for suggesting otherwise, I really mean you're an IDIOT OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.
While I for one am very grateful for all of your insider info and views, and do support some of what you say, I do feel you are being unnecessarily vitriolic. The man is clearly past it - it's painful to watch him stumble through links in the morning, and from what little I remember of his last interview, his questions were very wide and didn't really provoke the guest to hand any useful information over.
Your suggestion that Kate Silverton is devoid of warmth is also a little wide of the mark too. For the job she is required to do, she has ample warmth and charisma, depending on the right co-presenter. Her stint canoeing around the British Isles made her appear more human than, say, Kerplunk. She has more intelligence than Fiona Phillips has in her little finger and could show Ben Shepherd up in an instant.
I remember John Stapleton on 'Central Weekend' and 'The Time The Place' (both a bit like Question Time on BBC One if you never saw them) and he always seemed very professional on those two programmes. Admittedly i was only in my early teens at the time but seemed good to me. Never really see the Newshour as i'm either out the door before it has begun or not got up till after it.
...pre-empting suggestions that the bumbling old man was any good. The fact he hasn't moved very far from breakfast tv since it began in 1983 seems to back me up.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
He is one of the most sought after current affairs presenters in the business. The fact he doesn't do more work has a lot to do with the fact he's been there, done that, been shot at, and is over 60.
Trust me, when I say you're an idiot for suggesting otherwise, I really mean you're an IDIOT OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.
While I for one am very grateful for all of your insider info and views, and do support some of what you say, I do feel you are being unnecessarily vitriolic. The man is clearly past it - it's painful to watch him stumble through links in the morning, and from what little I remember of his last interview, his questions were very wide and didn't really provoke the guest to hand any useful information over.
Couldn't agree more. It's always good to have someone on the inside of these companies giving an insight into what's going on, so that's appreciated. On the other hand, in the nicest possible way, I'm not altogether worried about someone responsible for GMTV's output calling me an idiot. In fact it will make me sleep better tonight.
Anne Diamond and Mike Morris
Kathy Tayler and Richard Keys
Kate Silverton and Philip Hayton
Carol Vorderman and Ben Shepherd
Lorraine Kelly and Andrew Castle
Kate Garraway and Andrew Castle
Lorraine Kelly and Ben Shepherd
Kate Silverton and Ben Shepherd
Penny Smith and Ben Shepherd
Ben Shepherd