GMTV (1993 - 2010)

The unalterable fact Simon is that it was not a UK wide holiday bit GMTV is a UK wide television franchise.



Practicalities? Half a dozen days a year at most? Are you seriously suggesting that STV put a morning show together and broadcast in GMTV time?

What you're saying is that you want 3 million or so working people (or whatever the reach might be) to watch a local station doing a shambolic home made 3 hour news and magazine show on GMTV airtime so that you can watch something that makes you "feel" like you are holiday?

Get a grip of yourself and watch some UKTV Gardens or something.

There are no changes planned for next week,

Which does not make it a practical arrangement as far as Scottish viewers are concerned, and I'm very surprised you can't see that.


Why not? The BBC in Scotland uses its autonomy to its advantage; school holiday schedules are planned to suit the Scottish timetable and you even have your own edition of Newsnight. I am amazed that living in Scotland you would not embrace a seperate edition of GMTV which caters specifically for viewers north of the border.


As unfair as it is for Scotland to have to "endure" a national service which for many years has not catered to its individual requirements, it is equally unfair to suggest the rest of the nation should have to endure a bank holiday service which, effectively, caters for the one part of the UK which isn't on bank holiday.

I'm surprised the regional-loving IBA - fresh from ordering ATV to restructure in order to retain the franchise - didn't take into account the needs of Wales, Scotland and NI when they first put forward the idea for a breakfast television franchise. It was a major oversight on their part but one which could have been addressed when the franchise came up for renewal in 1991. Sadly it wasn't.

No, it wasn't. The system as it stands is fine.

It makes sense for us to have separate news, politics and sports programming. It also makes sense for children's morning and afternoon programming to be shifted in accordance with summer break.

A Scottish morning entertainment/lifestyle service does not make sense. GMTV relies on a ready supply of celebrity faces and Richard & Judy can tell you how difficult it is to make guests travel north.

Your complaint centres on you not getting to see something different between the hours of 6am and 9am on an English bank holiday.

I put it to you that you could resolve your own complaint by selecting another channel, while those millions setting off for work can watch GMTV.

I'd be obliged if you would desist from pointing out grievances with the broadcasting system on behalf of Scots for whom you do not speak.

Well I was under the impression this was a TV forum, so I think I have merely pointed out something to do with regional and national television worth discussing. Your request may have some credence if, living on the wrong side of the border, I was not able to see Scottish broadcasting for myself, but it's no longer the case. Little thing called Sky Digital, see? Something most of us have here. And those who see it should be entitled to make comment, regardless of where they live.

The reasons for This Morning's move to London are well-documented. So what would be so terrible about a Scottish GMTV sourced from London that, on one hand could cater for Scotland's individual news and cultural requirements, while it could also take the best bits from the networked service including the celebrity prattle.

And while I was perfectly aware of my viewing options last Monday, the wider issue is that broadcasters in general seem to be treating public holidays more and more like any other day in terms of their output. It's not by any means unique to GMTV.

I'm surprised you of all people are encouraging a change to the historical ITV structure

The situation would be pointless anyway as STV go along with the ITV schedule even when they don't need to. There was ample time for STV to run their usual 6pm regional news bulletin last Monday but they didn't bother

The other irony - STV have become a cost-cutting streamlined operation, paying only lip service to their local obligations just like their chums south of the border. Pre-1993 we could have had a nice little local breakfast service.

The historic ITV structure is no reason to keep things as they are if they're not perfect, and the concept of a UK-wide breakfast television franchise can have disadvantages.

There simply is no need for a seperate Scottish breakfast bulletin. I am hoping Alex Salmond isn't a member on here or you'll be putting more ideas into his head....

What irony are you referring to? All ITV regions have had to cost-cut or merge in the last decade. Its not the "licence to print money" it used to be.

All the more ridiculous to suggest an expensive solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

I'm afraid Sky Digital doesn't qualify you to say the Scots are "unhappy" and "long suffering" any more than wearing a beret makes you a Frenchman.

"Not in my name", Mr L.

How do you know. They nearly always make a small change on the first Monday in September.

Well it definately won't be set, as this morning news programme (is it still called the sunday programme?) looked no different unless they've done a lot in an afternoon.

All I'd like to see is a different background behind them, even that one that they had for a week when they first relaunched the set.

Take a look here, the backdrop doesn't look too bad in those blues, isn't there a way that they can light it to make it resemble what's going on outside?

I know, because i got an offical reply if you can call it that..

"GMTV returns to its usual self tomorrow, and NewsZone understands their to be no changes to the studio or the titles.

The summer holidays are finally over, which means the return to the usual rosta on GMTV. Jon Stapleton and Penny Smith continue to host the NewsHour between 6am - 7am. Sofa Queen Fiona Phillips returns for her 3-day-a-week stint to host GMTV Today, alongside Andrew Castle.

Lorraine Kelly, who told The Sun newspaper that she would never quit GMTV, is back to front her own show LK Today, guests this week including actress Leslie Ash and previous X Factor winner Shayne Ward.

Friday's also go back to normal after the Richard Arnold show filling in over the summer. Entertainment Today will have the latest in showbiz on both sides of the Atlantic.

It was hoped that with the new term, there would be some big changes, but a spokesperson for GMTV has told NewsZone that there will be no changes to the set or titles. "
NewsZone - Article