Good Morning Britain (1983 TV programme)
TV-am's weekday breakfast show from 1983 to 1992.
Last updated
Good Morning Britain served as TV-am's flagship weekday breakfast programme from February 1983 until the franchise concluded in 1992. The show blended news, current affairs, weather, cartoons, music, and celebrity guests. An early exercise segment, initially led by Michael Van Straten and Jackie Genova, later became famous under "Mad Lizzie" Webb.
TV-am handled in-house news until losing its licence, after which Sky News provided the service from 1 February to 31 December 1992. At its peak, the programme broadcast large outside segments from Bondi Beach, Australia, during the European winter and Australian summer, rebranding as G'Day Britain. The original presenting team and major shareholders—David Frost, Anna Ford, Michael Parkinson, Angela Rippon, and Robert Kee—soon disbanded, leaving Frost as the only original presenter.
Other hosts over the years included Chris Tarrant, Anneka Rice, Richard Keys, Kathy Tayler, Lorraine Kelly, and Jayne Irving. The show nearly failed in its first few months but eventually became a success. The studio buildings in Hawley Crescent were later acquired by what is now Paramount Global and ultimately used as Paramount International Networks' offices.
Lore & Background
Good Morning Britain launched in February 1983 with a high-profile presenting team that included David Frost, Anna Ford, Michael Parkinson, Angela Rippon, and Robert Kee, who were also main shareholders. The original format was soon dropped, and all but Frost left the broadcaster. After a rocky start that almost caused the franchise to fail, the show found its footing and became a success.
Reader's Guide
The programme is significant as the flagship breakfast show of TV-am, the UK's first commercial breakfast television franchise. It helped establish the breakfast television format in Britain, blending news, entertainment, and exercise segments.
At its peak, it featured large outside broadcasts from Bondi Beach in Australia, rebranding as 'G'Day Britain'. The show's news provision was initially in-house, but after TV-am lost its licence, news was contracted to Sky News from 1 February to 31 December 1992. The studio buildings in Hawley Crescent later became offices for Paramount International Networks.
More in Breakfast television in the United Kingdom
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Good Morning Britain (1983 TV programme) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced