''Daybreak'' is a British breakfast television program that was broadcast on ITV from 6 September 2010 to 25 April 2014. ''Daybreak'' replaced '' GMTV'', which aired its last weekday edition on 3 September 2010. ''Daybreak'' launched three days later. In March 2014, ITV announced that the show would end later in 2014 to be replaced by the launch of '' Good Morning Britain'' on 28 April 2014.

History

The decision to replace ''GMTV'' with ''Daybreak'' followed the full takeover of GMTV by ITV. ''Daybreak'' and ''

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

'' made up the weekday output of

ITV Breakfast ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited (previously known as GMTV Limited) is the national ITV breakfast television licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc in November 2009. The breakfast license ...

. At weekends, children's programming filled this slot. An advertising campaign, promoting the new franchise, started on 23 August, with short break-bumpers in between the start and end of an advertisement break, broadcast during the evening schedule of ITV.

Pre-launch

Chiles and Bleakley presented ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...

'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

together for nearly three years before leaving to join ITV.

First edition

The first edition of ''Daybreak'' was broadcast on 6 September 2010 with ex-hosts Chiles and Bleakley introducing viewers to the new set and admiring the view from the window. It included an interview with

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

and a lead story by John Stapleton on the collapse of the Farepak Christmas savings club in 2006. Views of regional locations around the United Kingdom were broadcast as well as a tour of the studio. The press offered a mixed reception to the first edition.Andrew Petti
Christine Bleakley and Adrian Chiles launch Daybreak, ITV, review
''The Telegraph'', 6 September 2010

Transition from ITV Breakfast to ITV Studios

In March 2011, ITV announced that it was incorporating ''Daybreak'' into its ITV News operation as part of a management restructure. In July of that year, it was announced that production of the slot, along with that of sister programme ''Lorraine'', would be taken over by

ITV Studios ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadca ...

. In August, '' This Morning'' executive Karl Newton was being charged with the transition to ITV Studios and was revamping the slot to give it 'one last throw of the dice' to boost its ratings. On 2 September, ITV announced that former BBC Breakfast Chief, David Kermode (formerly editor of '' 5 News'') was to take over as editor of the programme from 1 December, heralding a major revamp to the presenting team and the format. On 6 September, ''Daybreak'' celebrated its first anniversary on air. Two days later, Paul Connolly (the deputy editor) had departed from ''Daybreak''.

Relaunch

On 12 December 2011, it was reported that ''Daybreak'' would target 'hassled mums' as part of its refreshed focus and format changes, and a new presenting team were expected to be introduced in April 2012; however, these plans were delayed. On 26 April, it was reported that ITV was to move ''Daybreak'' to the studio currently used by sister programme ''

''. On 19 November 2011, it was reported that original presenters Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley had been axed. Chiles confirmed that they were to depart from ''Daybreak'' in the New Year; however, they left on 5 December, stating that 'we were assured we could go with our dignity intact'. Dan Lobb and Kate Garraway took over on an interim basis, until new presenters were announced. On 8 December, ITV chief executive Adam Crozier defended the decision of hiring Chiles and Bleakley, saying it was necessary to 'take a risk'. On 4 May 2012,

Aled Jones Aled Jones, (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and radio and television presenter. As a teenage chorister, he reached widespread fame during the mid-1980s. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and radio (for ...

and

Lorraine Kelly Lorraine Kelly, (born 30 November 1959) is a Scottish journalist and television presenter. She has presented various television shows for ITV, including '' Good Morning Britain'' (1988–1992), '' GMTV'' (1993–2010), ''This Morning'' (2003 ...

were confirmed by ITV as the new permanent presenters. Jones said 'I am thoroughly looking forward to sharing the sofa every morning with such a consummate professional as Lorraine Kelly.' On 28 May, Ranvir Singh announced she was leaving '' BBC North West Tonight'' to join ''Daybreak'', where she would present the first hour of the slot. On 11 June, '' 5 News'' presenter

Matt Barbet Matthew Barbet (born 8 June 1976) is a British television presenter and journalist, best known for his work with Channel 5 and ITV. In 2003, Barbet joined BBC News, where he worked on various news programmes. In September 2007, he left BBC N ...

was confirmed as Singh's co-presenter. On 28 August, it was confirmed Singh would become the newsreader following the first hour of ''Daybreak'', and that

BBC Weather BBC Weather is the department of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) responsible for both the preparation and the broadcasting of weather forecasts. On 6 February 2018, BBC Weather changed supplier from the government Met Office to Me ...

presenter Laura Tobin was joining the slot. Garraway would present ''Daybreak'' on Fridays and cover for full-time host

in a new two-year contract. On 28 August, the new ''Daybreak'' logo was unveiled. The revamped format was launched on 3 September; this was greeted with a mixed reaction from viewers on social media, with some newspapers reporting that viewers reacted negatively to the 'old fashioned' garish set. However, some viewers liked the change and praised the step back to the original format of GMTV which the core audience had asked to return. Despite the changes to the ailing format, the first edition of the new-look ''Daybreak'' drew only 600,000 viewers. Throughout September, the programme averaged around 700,000 viewers, as viewers begun to warm to the original GMTV-style format and new presenters. In October, ratings continued to average at 700,000 viewers, occasionally peaking at 800,000 viewers. On 15 February 2014, Kelly announced she was to leave ''Daybreak'' later in the year. She had signed a new contract to now present ''Lorraine'' each Monday to Friday. On 4 April (three weeks before the final edition of ''Daybreak''), Barbet co-presented for the final time, which made him the fourth presenter to leave after Chiles, Bleakley and Lobb. On 10 April, Kelly presented her final ''Daybreak'' before her Easter break, to concentrate on ''Lorraine'', as part of a new contract she was offered. On 25 April, ''Daybreak'' officially came to an end, hosted by Jones and Garraway.

Presenters

Format

''Daybreak'' was a news, lifestyle and entertainment magazine programme interspersed with celebrity interviews, consumer and health items and reports from locations around the UK.

6am7am (The Daybreak News-Hour)

and Ranvir Singh presented 'The 'Daybreak News-Hour'. The presenters also talked to guests and reviewed the front pages of the newspapers throughout the hour. John Stapleton,

Helen Fospero Helen Fospero (née Morton; born 30 August 1966) is an English television presenter and journalist, best known for her presenting roles on shows such as ''GMTV'', '' Daybreak'' and ''Lorraine''. She is currently working as a reporter for ''Wat ...

or Louisa James act as stand-in presenters for this section of the programme.

7am8:30am (Daybreak)

and

presented the main part of the slot from 7am until 8:30am, focusing on human interest stories, showbiz gossip and lifestyle features. News, Sport and Weather updates were presented by Ranvir Singh and Laura Tobin, along with a team of correspondents and experts. Kate Garraway,

or John Stapleton were stand-in presenters for this section, with Barbet occasionally presenting the whole slot from 6am until 8:30am.

occasionally presented the show on a stand-in basis.

News

The news bulletins were presented by Ranvir Singh (or

or Louisa James, if Singh was not present) from the 'Daybreak News-Desk' at 7am and 8am with headlines at 7:30am and again at 9am on sister programme ''

''Daybreak – On The Hour
TV Newsroom Reports are presented by members of the programme's news team.

News Review

On some mornings, the main headlines on the front pages and articles from the inside of the morning newspapers were discussed with two guests on the programme. This was a regular feature between September 2012 and the Summer of 2013, but later became an occasional feature, although the front pages were always shown by

Victoria Derbyshire Victoria Antoinette Derbyshire is a British journalist, newsreader and broadcaster. Her eponymous current affairs and debate programme was broadcast on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel from 2015 until March 2020. She has also presented ''News ...

, Kevin Maguire,

Martel Maxwell Martel Maxwell (born 9 March 1977) is a Scottish journalist, writer, radio and television presenter. Since 2017, she has co-presented the property show ''Homes Under the Hammer''. Early life Maxwell was born on 9 March 1977, and was raised in Du ...

and

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as '' Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Jour ...

were occasional newspaper reviewers; they often featured on sister programme ''

'' to discuss the main newspaper headlines at 8:35am.

National weather

The national ''Daybreak'' weather forecast by Laura Tobin was presented at around 6:08am, 6:25am, 6:55am, 7:25am, 7:55am and 8:25am. In December 2010, ''Daybreak'' featured extensive coverage of the severe winter weather affecting much of the UK. (Previously, the forecast was presented outdoors via a

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk an ...

.) A

news ticker A news ticker (sometimes called a "crawler", "crawl", "slide", "zipper", or "ticker tape") is a horizontal or vertical (depending on a language's writing system) text-based display either in the form of a graphic that typically resides in the lo ...

was introduced to provide updates on transport information during the blizzards that affected much of the country's transport infrastructure at the time. Sometimes the forecasts are shot from an outside location, such as

Leeds Castle Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England, southeast of Maidstone. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds. A castle has existed on the site since 857. In the 13th century, it came into th ...

or Epsom Downs Racecourse.

Entertainment

Los Angeles correspondent Ross King presented all the latest news from Hollywood. Showbiz editor Richard Arnold presented the showbiz updates on ''Daybreak'' at 7:50am weekdays. Items ranged from music news, celebrity gossip and interviews.

Politics

Political editor Sue Jameson presented the political news on ''Daybreak'' often as part of the news updates at the top of the hour. She also appeared on the ''Daybreak'' sofa and went live to Westminster or Downing Street for the Breaking News stories.

Financial

Martin Lewis is a money-saving expert who gave financial advice to viewers ranging from Gas, Electricity, Credit Cards, Insurance, Holidays, Savings, etc. He usually appeared on ''Daybreak'' on Thursdays.

Health

''Daybreak'' health editor Dr. Hilary Jones presented the health articles and gave viewers advice on medical problems such as weight issues, contraception, surgery and cancer.

Reception

''Daybreak'' was nominated for a

National Television Award The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV (TV network), ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the ...

in the "Magazine Programme of the Year" category for 2011,Daybreak is nominated for National TV award
BBC News, 21 September 2010 but failed to make the final shortlist.

References

External links

* {{UK Breakfast TV 2010 British television series debuts 2014 British television series endings Breakfast television in the United Kingdom ITV Breakfast ITV (TV network) original programming Television series by ITV Studios