Beeb gives 5 chiefs a Wright headache

JEREMY VINE was delighted to announce himself as the new host of Channel 5’s current affairs programme The Wright Stuff, but his other employers at the BBC don’t appear to be quite so pleased.

Last month Jeremy, 53, excitedly claimed it was “a perfect fit with my ongoing role at Radio 2” when the he revealed he was replacing journalist Matthew Wright as the anchor of the soon-to-be-renamed show from September.

The programme is recorded at ITN’s studios and airs every weekday from 9.15am to 11.15am, finishing 45 minutes before his radio show begins. This gives cyclist Jeremy time to make the 11-minute bike ride to the BBC studios.

However, bosses at the Beeb are understood to have dug in their heels and told Jeremy – one of their highest earners, raking in around £749,999 last year – that cutting it fine is not an option.

BBC radio presenters are expected to arrive an hour before going on air to meet with their production team and discuss the show’s content.

The Beeb’s refusal to let one of their most costly stars to come in late has given producers at broadcaster Channel 5 a headache.

A show insider told Day & Night that to get around the scheduling problem they are considering pre-recording the last hour of the show first thing in the morning, allowing Jeremy to leave at 10:15.

The pre-recorded section will air after the first hour, which will be filmed as usual with phone-ins from the public.

But given the show’s successful 18-year history it remains to be seen whether viewers would take to the new style.