Richard and Judy to host new show on UKTV
Monday, July 14th, 2008First there was Dave, then there was…
Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan are to co-present a chat show on a new multi-channel digital service named Watch.
Watch, unfortunately nothing to do with the educational BBC programme in which Digital TV blog editor once appeared aged 5 years old, is one of several UKTV channels to be launched as part of a major rebranding initiative. Other channels to be affected by the change include UKTV Gold which will become known as Gold, and focus more on comedy, and UKTV Crime which will be known as Alibi. It is likely that UKTV will be dropped from channel titles altogether, but still be used for publicity purposes.
This follows on from the success of last year, when UKTV G2 was renamed Dave. Ratings soared even though the schedule remained pretty similar, with repeats of classic BBC shows such as Top Gear and Have I got News for You. UKTV Chief Executive David Abraham said the channel was named Watch because it does “what it says on the tin.”
It is still not certain what form Richard and Judy’s new show will take, after the pair’s contract with Channel 4 runs out at the end of this year. The Book Club will still remain, and although phone-in competitions have not been ruled out, it is unlikely that premium rate lines will be used.
UKTV says the programme will be “more grown-up and unplugged” than the married couple’s tea-time chat show. There is a possibility that the pair’s daughter Chloe Madeley may feature, as well as various “entertainment acts.”
UKTV producers want to ditch the “snobbish” assumption that all digital channels just show repeats, with 20% of Watch’s schedule dedicated to new and original shows, set to rise to 50% in the near future. The rest of the schedule will air BBC favourites such as Torchwood, Doctor Who and Messiah.
