Remembering the ITV Daytime classics

Some of the classics of ‘ITV Daytime’ of yesteryear….

With the news yesterday that ITV Daytime is ‘shaking things up’ with their morning schedule next year, it got us thinking about life before Loose Women, and some of those memorable shows that entertained millions in years gone by.

ITV first attempted daytime broadcasting when the station launched in 1955, a host of shows went to air including magazine show The Weekend Show (ATV) and daily serial Sixpenny Corner (Associated Rediffusion). However, morning broadcasts didn’t last long. When Independent Television first hit the air, it was regulated on how many hours a day it could broadcast, with the ITV companies opting to move the hours later in the day, where advertising could make more money.

Daytime did continue regionally with several stations doing their own mid-day variety or lifestyle type programmes, the first being ATV’s Lunch Box in 1956. Hosted by Noele Gordon and Jerry Allen the format was copied across the UK with variations on the show ranging from The One O’clock Show by Tyne Tees to Anglia’s The Midday Show, Call in for Lunch from Westward and STV’s The One O’clock Gang to name just a few. In 1964 the first daily half-hour soap, based on the stateside format, was launched with Crossroads (ATV), although it wouldn’t be seen across the whole of the UK until 1972.

Lunch Box, a long running magazine show presented by Noele Gordon / ATV

Derek Batey had all the questions on Border Television’s Mr & Mrs

In 1972 the hours ITV could transmit were relaxed and afternoon schedules were extended with the arrival of serials Emmerdale Farm (Yorkshire TV) and General Hospital (ATV) joining a line-up of magazine shows such as Women Today (ATV) and Good Afternoon (Thames).

Game shows also proved popular in the afternoon schedules from husband-and-wife knowledge quiz Mr & Mrs (HTV/Border) to crossword puzzling in Crosswits (Tyne Tees), musical guess work with Key Notes (HTV) and words game Chain Letters (Tyne Tees) all fondly remembered. And there was plenty of chat, it was ITV Daytime that gave Terry Wogan his first TV chat show with Lunchtime with Wogan (ATV) and later debate would be had on The Time, The Place (Anglia), Vanessa with Vanessa Feltz (Anglia) and Trisha with Trisha Goddard. (Anglia).

Factual had its place with daytime spin-off of holiday prime time series Wish You Were Here? with Wish You Were Here Today? (Thames), television highlights and previews came with TV Weekly (TVS/Meridian) and there was cookery with Farmhouse Kitchen (Yorkshire Television) and Gardening Time (Central) provided interest for green fingered viewers.

There was also room for specially produced dramas for a daytime budget including Crown Court (Granada) and period saga The Cedar Tree (ATV). The breakfast schedule was a late arrival to ITV. American television had decades of early morning shows in their archives long before ITV was finally allowed, by the ever stern telly regulator, a UK wide offering in 1983 with the launch of TV-am. In the late 70s regionally Tyne Tees and Yorkshire Television had experimented with breakfast output but were both short-lived trial attempts of a mix of short news programming between repeats such as stateside soap Peyton Place.

John Alkin plays Barry Deeloy in Granada TV’s Crown Court

Eamonn Holmes follows in Anne Diamond’s footsteps as host of TV Weekly / Meridian

Late-mornings on ITV had been a place for education with programming for schools broadcast at this time, that all changed in 1988 when This Morning (Granada) the first weekday magazine show for ITV was launched. Hosted by Husband-and-wife team of Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan it became one of the stations most popular daytime programmes.

And then there were the Australian soaps – ITV Daytime became home to several popular productions such as The Young Doctors (Grundy), A Country Practice (Crawfords), Sons and Daughters (Grundy) and Home and Away (Seven).

“The days when ITV Daytime’s schedule changing didn’t come as a surprise as every few weeks there would be differing listings as programmes came as others took a break. The news yesterday has been met with ‘such shock’ by the tabloid press due pretty much to the stale same-old offerings from ITV that make it seem earth shattering if anything changes. A lack of creativity, vision and variation in formats has sadly seen very little in variety in ITV Daytime for the past 25 years.

“Why? That is a difficult one. Some of it is likely down to there no longer being the ‘regional offering’ with different companies pitching formats for the daytime schedules, and no one boss overseeing it all. Today it’s all presided over by a couple of people who seem to keep to the same programming, and presenters, as no doubt they’re scared to take risks – in case of low ratings. Heaven help the day The Chase doesn’t air at 5pm!” – TV Critic Vivian Summers

This Morning from Liverpool’s Albert Docks with Judy Finnigan and Richard Madeley / Granada TV