RI:SE
A short-lived Channel 4 breakfast show that struggled in the ratings.
RI:SE was a British breakfast television programme produced by Princess Productions in collaboration with BSkyB for Channel 4. It replaced The Big Breakfast and aired nationally from 29 April 2002 until 19 December 2003, broadcasting between 06:55 and 09:00.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Breakfast television
- Runtime
- 2hr 15 mins
- Channel
- Channel 4
- First aired
- 29 April 2002
- Last aired
- 19 December 2003
- Series
- 2
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
History
The original presenting lineup for RI:SE featured Mark Durden-Smith, Colin Murray, Kirsty Gallacher, Edith Bowman, Tom Binns, Chris Rogers, Liz Bonnin, and Henry Bonsu. The programme debuted on 29 April 2002, introduced by a voiceover that said "now on 4 a brand new way to wake up on Channel 4". It had no title sequence, only background music, and was filmed in a high-tech studio equipped with large video screens and a dedicated news wall. Chris Rogers delivered the top six news stories, then passed to Kirsty Gallacher for the sports segment. A pilot episode had been recorded live with Chris Moyles; during a commercial break, a production company woman asked for his thoughts, and he called it "just a bit boring" but acknowledged that was the style the company wanted. Viewership numbers fell short of what was hoped, leading to several format tweaks. The show started to copy The Big Breakfast, with presenters seated as a pair in front of French windows, plus games, contests, crew involvement, and outside broadcasts featuring Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins. Ratings did climb during Big Brother 4 coverage, when more than 500,000 people watched. The first run experienced frequent presenter swaps and producer exits because interest was low. Fans of The Big Breakfast, who had re-engaged with that show in 2002 when Lisa Rogers appeared for its final three months, took issue with RI:SE's opening remarks about there being no whooping crew members, a feature the earlier breakfast show had thrived on. Critics pointed to the lack of a title sequence, too much reliance on a news ticker and a six-pack of news, and unfunny segments like "search for a nobody", "strap me down", and "lip service". The news ticker cycled through news, sport, weather, and travel. Presenters had designated areas: Chris handled news, Edith covered entertainment. The show was soundly beaten in the ratings by GMTV. Executive producer Sebastian Scott stated at the launch that the aim was for people to watch in short bursts rather than for long stretches. After it was announced that Mark Durden-Smith, Colin Murray, Liz Bonnin, Chris Rogers, and Kirsty Gallacher would be leaving, more presenter changes followed.
Cancellation
Channel 4 pulled the plug on RI:SE on 19 September 2003 after it consistently failed to attract viewers. The final broadcast took place on 19 December 2003, bringing back the most popular guests from earlier months like Jon Tickle and Shaun Dooley. To close things out, hosts Iain and Kate had spent weeks organising a giant pile-on. Although the show had a small but dedicated fanbase, Channel 4 decided it wasn't worth continuing. During its time on air, RI:SE featured an entertainment report, a segment called Textocution where viewers could vote off someone they disliked and the last person standing won a holiday, a paper review, and a text-to-win true-or-false question. After the cancellation, the morning slot was taken over by reruns of sitcoms such as Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Frasier. In January 2006, Channel 4 tried a new live show called Morning Glory, hosted by Dermot O'Leary, which aired for three weeks during Celebrity Big Brother 4 but was dropped due to low ratings. From 2006, the music programme Freshly Squeezed ran from 07:00 to 07:30. The Bayswater studio, owned by Princess Productions, later became the home of The Wright Stuff on Channel 5. In a December 2019 Twitch stream, former presenter Iain Lee mentioned that on one occasion the show had zero viewers.
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