Show’s Phil-good factor
PHILIP Schofield is on the television tonight. Admittedly, this is no great surprise. Philip Schofield is on the television quite a lot. But in THIS MORNING – 30 UNFORGETTABLE YEARS (ITV, 7.30pm) there’s a particularly fascinating old clip of him, dating back to when the daytime show he now co-hosts was presented by the legendary Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, still broadcasting then from Liverpool’s Albert Dock.
This archive clip features a ridiculously young looking Philip (it turns out he used to have brown hair, if you can imagine such a thing, plus Harry Potter specs) dropping in as one of Richard and Judy’s guests, and at one point being asked how he saw himself in 20 years’ time.
“A greying, slightly chubby presenter,” the young Pip predicts, “maybe sitting doing some sort of show somewhere on some channel…”
To which Judy replies, with a chuckle: “Like this!”
Somewhat uncanny, eh? And just one of countless marvellous moments from this 90-minute shameless nostalgia fest celebrating This Morning’s three decades on air.
Other fascinating bits include early appearances from people who’d go on to become major TV names, even if we didn’t necessarily want them to. They include a chap called Simon Cowell, turning up on the show in 1999 to help judge its search for a boyband.
Among those out to impress him is a 20-year-old chap from Exeter called Will Young, clearly far too posh ever to become a pop star, plus a couple of the boys who’d eventually end up in a group calling themselves Blue.
Alongside this Simon fellow, helping him identify guys with star potential, we find This Morning’s showbiz expert at the time, Kate Thornton. “What should people be looking for when they’re voting?” Kate is asked – a reasonable question, bearing in mind this was back in the days before Saturday night TV singing contests.
“Well,” Kate replies, “it’s the indefinable X factor…”
Elsewhere tonight there’s more nostalgia, this time of a slightly less heartwarming kind, in THE BANK THAT ALMOST BROKE BRITAIN (BBC2, 9pm). It recalls how, on October 7, 2008, the Royal Bank of Scotland ran out of cash (well, it’s easily done), and brought our entire economy to within hours of collapse.
ITV’s political editor Robert Peston recalls: “It could have been one of those moments when you just sort of turn the lights out, get under the duvet, buy a shotgun and some baked beans.” (He doesn’t actually explain how he’d have done those things in that order). “The worst,” adds former business minister Baroness Shriti Vadera, “could have been no cash in ATMs, and hospitals not being able to function. It was the stuff of nightmares…” Rather like Dan’s salmon coulibiac showstopper in THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF (C4, 8pm). Judges Prue and Paul agree it looks clever (its pastry casing resembles an actual fish), but Prue points out a small problem, “It doesn’t look appetising,” she declares. “I don’t want to eat it.”