MORNING REIGN
Holly and Phil take a look back at three decades of brilliant breakfast telly
SPORTING a huge pair of shoulder pads, Judy Finnigan, alongside husband Richard Madeley, welcomes us to the first episode of This Morning back in 1988. The clip sends current presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield into fits of giggles – they do that a lot.
This charming trip down memory lane, narrated by Joanna Lumley, takes us through the show’s 30 years, with plenty of nostalgic clips.
“There was nothing like the kind of live television that we were doing,” says Judy.
At a time when daytime TV was a graveyard, with only horse racing, political conferences or perhaps the odd snooker match, This Morning broke new ground.
Originally only commissioned to run for a few months, it now starts the day for millions of Brits. The show gave stars such as Charlotte Church their showbiz break, showcased the Spice Girls final ever performance together and drew complaints when the Chippendales were let loose on the audience.
Who can forget the moment Fern Britton asked a slurring Kerry Katona if she was an alcoholic, the time Gino d’Acampo cooked naked or when a hungover Holly and Phil hosted straight from an all-nighter after winning a National Television Award?
This is an entertaining tribute to the show they say is “for the people, about the people.”