ATV Icons: Richard and Judy

The next in a series of ATV Icons to celebrate 70 years of ITV brings us Richard and Judy…

Richard Madeley was born in 1956 in Romford, Essex. He began his career in journalism as a teenager, joining the Brentwood Argus in 1972 and studying journalism at Harlow College during his apprenticeship. At 19 he moved into broadcasting, becoming a news producer and presenter for BBC Radio Carlisle.

Judy Finnigan was born in 1948 in Manchester. She grew up in a working-class family and excelled academically, earning a place at the University of Bristol where she studied English and Drama After university, Finnigan joined Granada Television as a researcher in 1971.

By the mid-1970s Madeley had left local newspapers for broadcasting. In 1976 he reported for BBC Radio Carlisle, then moved to regional TV: he joined Border Television as a presenter in 1978 and Yorkshire Television in 1980​.

In 1982 he was recruited to Granada Television’s news programme Granada Reports, where the producers introduced him to Judy Finnigan. Finnigan had rejoined Granada in 1980 after her stint at Anglia, and on Madeley’s first day she famously greeted him with “I’m your mummy.” They quickly became a couple​.

Before national fame: Richard and Judy in their Granada Reports era / GRANADA

Meanwhile, Finnigan had launched her TV reporting career. In 1974 she moved to Anglia Television in Norwich as the local ITV station’s first female news reporter​. She returned to Granada in 1980 to work on live shows such as Flying Start, Scramble and Granada Reports​.

Richard and Judy married in 1986​ and continued to live and work in the Manchester area.

Madeley and Finnigan’s partnership on screen began in earnest in 1988 when they were tapped as the hosts of ITV’s new morning show This Morning.

The programme – a 90-minute weekday mix of celebrity interviews, lifestyle features and phone-ins – debuted in October 1988 from Liverpool and quickly became a national hit​. Over 13 years the couple presented the show together, often playfully bickering and sharing anecdotes, and This Morning became synonymous with “Richard and Judy.” In 1996 the whole show relocated to the LWT Studios in London in an attempt to lure more star names onto the sofa.

The programme won multiple awards during this period – for example, by 2002 it had won three National Television Awards for Best Daytime Programme​. At the 2000 NTAs, This Morning took the Daytime prize, an occasion when Finnigan famously had a wardrobe accident on stage​ when we all saw her big white bra. In May 2001, after a year of negotiations with Channel 4, Madeley and Finnigan left This Morning to much surprise to ITV viewers – they later revealed they didn’t get on with the then bosses of ITV daytime, who had become irked the show was more referred to as ‘Richard and Judy’ rather than This Morning.

This Morning, launch photograph, 1988, GRANADA

In the autumn of 2001 the couple launched Richard & Judy on Channel 4 – a one-hour early-evening chat and lifestyle show. The new programme initially struggled in the ratings, but the introduction of the “Richard & Judy Book Club” segment transformed its fortunes. The axing of Crossroads on ITV also helped to boost their ratings.

In 2007–08 the Book Club became hugely influential: 16 book selections featured on the show that year sold a total of about £22 million in the UK market​. Publishers even began timing book releases to hit the Club’s slot. The Richard & Judy show continued for eight serires. Its peak years included high-profile interviews and guests ranged from Bill Clinton to Madonna. Declining viewership led to the show ending in 2009, after which Madeley and Finnigan pursued other projects including a short-lived prime time version of the format for UKTV.

After stepping back from TV in 2009, Finnigan reinvented herself as a writer. Her debut novel Eloise (2012) – a thriller set in Cornwall – was a commercial success, and she followed it with I Do Not Sleep in 2015​.

Richard and Judy became This Morning’s best-known stars, fronting the series for 13-years / GRANADA

In 2023 she brought out a third novel, Roseland​. All three books were published by Sphere and drew on themes of mystery and family drama in atmospheric settings. Finnigan also made brief TV returns: notably, in 2014 she rejoined ITV’s Loose Women as a regular panelist​ and has guest-hosted This Morning, notably around anniversaries of the programme. Through her novels and media presence, she continued to champion reading and journalism, reflecting her long career as a broadcaster and book-club promoter​.

Madeley likewise stayed active in media after 2009. He took on various broadcasting and writing projects, including guest appearances on news and talk programmes. In 2024 he published a memoir, Tomorrow Never Waits: My Life Story – So Far, recounting his upbringing and career​.

In the book he reflects on his working-class childhood, time in the Royal Marines (briefly in 1974–75), and journey through journalism into television. In recent years he has also returned to hosting, including with Judy on This Morning for special occasions and is a regular presenter on ITV’s Good Morning Britain as well as a contributor to radio and newspapers.

This Morning moves to London in 1996 / GRANADA