..and nobody sold trash like Greg Dyke. Long departed though he might be from the LWT building, Greg's shadow is still cast over this born again TV-am, as it's created in the same mould as his designs for that hapless ex-franchise holder were some 21 years ago.
The show is a mixture of interviews with tired old celebrities pushing their latest book or comeback, mixed in with hard luck stories from the less than glittering members of society. It's all strung together with the same colourful panache as a Sunday Tabloid newspaper.
Divided in to three segments, the first is the best and it's all downhill from there. Bizarrely the only two presenters with real talent, John 'Stapes' Stapleton and Penny Smith are condemned to the graveyard slot between six and seven. They handle the Newshour as it's called comfortably and without descending into the Tabloid Telly that tones the rest of the programme.
The main slot is given over to the smarm'n'silly brigade fronted by Eamonn Holmes who tries to bring a kind of Woganesque Irish charm to the proceedings. He's accompanied by Fiona Philips who seems unable to read more than half a sentence without looking to consult her notes. Finally there's the Lorraine Kelly slot, a 'Wimmins' mixture of fashion, food and frivolity without which the nation clearly couldn't function.
As I said at the start though, trash sells, and this programme's popularity has kept it high in the ratings while Channel Four's offerings have all slipped by the wayside, and the BBC have tried a few permutations without success. If you're looking for something that slips between this puerility and the corporations rigid, overproduced style, try 'Sunrise' the Sky TV offering. It has its faults, but gets the job done.
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