''The Wright Stuff'' is a

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

chat show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sho ...

which was hosted by former tabloid journalist Matthew Wright from 2000 until 2018. It aired on Channel 5 on weekday mornings from 9:15 to 11:15am. The series characterised itself as "Britain's brightest daytime show", which gave "ordinary people the chance to talk and comment on everything from the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

to social, emotional and even sexual issues back at home", as well as featuring "showbiz stars and media commentators". ''The Wright Stuff'' was nominated as "Best Daytime Programme" at both the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

and the

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

. The show first aired on 11 September 2000 and was created at

Anglia Television ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

who produced it for two years until their takeover by

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

. From 2008 until 2017, it was produced by

Princess Productions Princess Productions was a London-based television production company, formed by Henrietta Conrad and Sebastian Scott, which produced broadcast shows and pilots for all the major British broadcasters across a variety of genres, mainly specialisi ...

who also produced ''

The Vanessa Show ''The Vanessa Show'' is a British chat show presented by Vanessa Feltz which was broadcast on BBC One from January to July 1999. It was cancelled following a scandal revealed by the ''Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national d ...

'', ''Live With Gabby'' as well as '' Something For The Weekend'' and '' Sunday Brunch'', from their studio at Whiteleys Shopping Centre. It was latterly produced by ITN Productions from January 2018 with Wright announcing his departure on 1 May. He left as presenter just over a month later on 14 June after 18 years. Throughout its forthcoming summer, various guest hosts presented the show and it aired for the final time with

Anne Diamond Anne Margaret Diamond (born 8 September 1954) is a British journalist and broadcaster. She presently hosts the weekend breakfast show on GB News with Stephen Dixon as her co-presenter. She hosted '' Good Morning Britain'' for TV-am and ''Good ...

hosting on 31 August 2018. The last show ended with a preview of the logo for its successor ''Jeremy Vine''. On 3 September 2018, Jeremy Vine became the host of the current daily current affairs show '' Jeremy Vine'', which continues to be produced by ITN Productions.

Studio and production

The programme was launched from Anglia TV Studios in Norwich.Channel 5 axes The Wright Stuff
guardian.co.uk, 14 November 2001 After the end of the contract with Granada, the programme was later broadcast from MTV Studios in Camden,

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

before moving to Princess Production's studios on the third floor of Whiteley's Shopping Centre,

Bayswater Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, an ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. From January to August 2018, the programme broadcast from ITN's central London HQ.

Main host and stand-ins

Matthew Wright hosted the show from when it began in 2000 until he left in 2018. When he went on holiday or was ill, others filled in for him. Many of the regular panel members hosted the show in its early stages such as James O'Brien,

Janet Ellis Janet Ellis, (born 16 September 1955) is an English television presenter, actress and writer, who is best known for presenting the children's television programmes ''Blue Peter'' and '' Jigsaw'' between 1979 and 1987. She has published two nove ...

, Kate Silverton, Henry Bonsu,

Vanessa Feltz Vanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster, and journalist. She has appeared on various television shows, including ''Vanessa'' (1994–1998), ''The Big Breakfast'' (1996–1998), ''The Vanessa Show'' (1999), ''Celebr ...

, Lowri Turner, Matt Allwright, Kaye Adams, Nihal Arthenayke, Hardeep Singh Kohli,

Christopher Biggins Christopher Kenneth Biggins (born 16 December 1948) is an English actor and television presenter. Early life Biggins was born in Oldham, Lancashire, the son of William and Pamela Biggins. He was brought up in Salisbury, Wiltshire, attended St ...

and

Andrew Castle Andrew Nicholas Castle (born 15 November 1963) is a British broadcaster and former tennis player. Castle was UK number 1 in singles tennis in 1986, reaching as high as World No. 80 in June 1988, and No. 45 in doubles in December 1988, with Tim ...

. Occasionally new guest hosts were drafted in, Simon Hardeman,

Jane Moore Jane Moore (born 17 May 1962) is an English journalist, author and television presenter, best known as a columnist for '' The Sun'' newspaper and as a panellist and anchor on the ITV lunchtime chat show ''Loose Women'' between 1999 and 2002, re ...

, Anneka Rice,

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was ...

Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...

, Richard Bacon, Stephen Nolan, Coleen Nolan, Fiona Phillips,

Donal MacIntyre Donal MacIntyre (born 25 January 1966) is an Irish investigative journalist, specialising in investigations, undercover operations and television exposés. He has also worked as a presenter of both television news and documentaries on various U ...

, Penny Smith and Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije have hosted. Wright entered '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here'' in November 2013, leaving Richard Madeley to host the show for a month. Madeley continued to guest host regularly until January 2017. In August 2017

Trisha Goddard Patricia Gloria Goddard (born 23 December 1957) is an English television presenter and actress. She is best known for her television talk show '' Trisha'' (1998–2010), which was broadcast on a mid-morning slot on ITV before later being move ...

, Nina Wadia and

guest hosted five episodes each.

''Live with...''

Launched in June 2011 as ''The Wright Stuff Extra with Gabby Logan'' and then as ''Live With Gabby Logan'', ''Live With...'' was a daytime magazine format seeking to build on the success of the main discussion show. It contained a mix of topical discussion, DIY, consumer items, relationship issues and medical matters. It was initially presented by former

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...

presenter, Gabby Logan and aired from 11:10am to 12:10pm immediately after ''The Wright Stuff''. From 26 September 2011, the show was rebranded as ''Live with Gabby'' with a new theme tune and titles. On 5 April 2012, the producers tweeted to announce that Logan was leaving Channel 5 because of her commitments to host the 2012 Olympics. The show aired its final edition with Logan as host on 6 April 2012. Its run continued on 10 April as ''Live with...'', with a variety of guest hosts, including Kaye Adams, former TVS '' Coast To Coast'' anchor

Fern Britton Fern Britton (born 17 July 1957) is an English author and television presenter. She co-presented '' Breakfast Time'' in the 1980s, coming to mainstream national attention when hosting cookery game show ''Ready Steady Cook'' between 1994 and 200 ...

, Atomic Kitten member

Jenny Frost Jennifer Frost (born 22 February 1978) is an English singer, television presenter and model. She was a member of girl group Precious before replacing Kerry Katona in the group Atomic Kitten from 2001 until they disbanded in April 2004. Frost ...

and

Myleene Klass Myleene Angela Klass (born 6 April 1978) is a British musician, singer, presenter, model and businesswoman. She was a member of the pop group Hear'Say, and later released two solo classical crossover albums in 2003 and 2007. More recently, Klass ...

. The show ended in mid-2012 after it fulfilled the episodes booked by Channel 5.

Co-presenters

"Babe in the Booth"

It had been a feature of the show that there was a female co-host (originally a telephone operator) in a booth separated from the main presenter and guest area. This was because one of the original creators, a producer at Anglia TV was a big fan of the American TV comedy Frasier, and the role of Frasier's producer Roz Doyle. From the redesign of the set in 2010 until the show ended in 2018, the booth was gone and the co-host sat in the audience area. The longest serving female co-host from 2015 until 2018 was

Storm Huntley Storm Huntley (born 24 February 1987) is a Scottish television presenter. Early life and education Huntley's first name was chosen from a combination of her mother reading a novel where the lead had this name ('' A Sparrow Falls'' by Wilbur Sm ...

who continued her role in the shows replacement Jeremy Vine. The following hosts have fulfilled this role earlier in the show's tenure: * Hester Grainger *

Becky Jago Rebecca Joanne Jago (née Gunton; born 20 April 1976 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk) is an English television news presenter, currently employed by ITV Anglia. Career Jago attended Stowmarket High School from 1989 to 1994. She graduated from the U ...

* Stef Alexander * Beth Palmer – now works as a continuity announcer on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

* Sarah Hogan * Korin Nolan – performed the task for four years between 2004 and 2008, * Amie Morris – found as a replacement for

Phina Oruche Phina Oruche (born 31 August 1969) is a Nigerian British actress, radio presenter and former model best known for her performances as Liberty Baker in ITV's ''Footballers' Wives'', for which she won a Screen Nations Award for Favourite TV Sta ...

who filled in for a week after Korin Nolan left * Kirsty Duffy – Kirsty left to have a baby * Seema Pathan – Mid-2014–2017 * Georgie Barrett - stand-in, now presents on The Gadget Show * Storm Huntley – May 2015 – 2018 * Rezzy Ghadjar (cover) – January 2015 – 2018

"Man with the Mic"

A male presenter sat in the audience taking views on the various topics from them. He needed to be across the news stories of the day and co-ordinate live debate between the studio audience, celebrity panellists and viewers at home. His principal role was audience researcher, booker and wrangler, meeting the audience in the morning, preparing them for the show and firing a lively debate amongst them during commercial breaks. The first "Man with the Mic" was Matt Rudge who left to pursue a successful career as a writer and stand-up comic. The second longest-running "Man with the Mic" was

Seyi Rhodes Seyi Rhodes (born 4 May 1979) is a British television presenter and investigative journalist of Nigerian descent. He has worked for the BBC, Channel 4 Television, Five Television and Current TV. From 2008, he has been the in-vision presenter ...

, who worked on the show for just over two years. He took over from Rudge in 2003. Rhodes now works as a Foreign Affairs Reporter on the Channel 4 documentary series '' Unreported World''. He was named as one of

's "next generation of presenting voices" in 2008. Amol Rajan took over from Rhodes, but in turn left to join ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' newspaper, later becoming its editor in 2013. Eric Johnson took over in September 2007 and held the position the longest. He is now a presenter on Sky News. The "Man with the Mic" until the end of 2017 was Alex Davoodi.

Panellists

Originally, the series had just two regular panelists joining Wright, who were journalists James O'Brien and Kate Silverton, and the series featured a studio audience but did not feature a special guest. O'Brien appeared until 2002 and Silverton appeared until 2005 but less frequently as previously. From 2002 two new panellists every week and a third panelist who would be a special guest for the day. There was always a male and female panel member as well the special guest. As of 2018 the panellists rotated daily, as opposed to a weekly rotation. Regular panel members have included TV presenters, journalists, comedians, politicians, actors, singers, entertainers and

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1 ...

stars. These have included: *

Angela Rippon Angela May Rippon (born 12 October 1944)"Angela Rippon," ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Detroit: Gale, (2008) ''Gale Biography In Context'' is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and tele ...

(2002, 2018) *

Dominic Holland Dominic Anthony Holland (born 6 May 1967) is an English comedian, author, actor and broadcaster. He won the 1993 Perrier Best Newcomer Award in Edinburgh. His BBC Radio 4 series, ''The Small World of Dominic Holland'' (a reference to his 5'6" h ...

(2002–2003, 2007–2018) * David Bull (2002–2018) *

(2002–2018) * Lowri Turner (2002–2018) *

Lauren Booth Lauren Booth (born Sarah Jane Booth; 22 July 1967) is an English broadcaster, journalist and activist holding a VIP Palestinian Authority passport as well as a British passport. Early life Sarah Jane Booth was born and grew up in North London. ...

(2003, 2018) * Ed Vaizey (2003–2009, 2018) *

(2003–2018) *

Daisy McAndrew Daisy Candida McAndrew (née Sampson; born 20 May 1972 in Hampstead, London) is an English journalist. Education McAndrew was educated at Wycombe Abbey School, an independent school for girls in High Wycombe and then at the Cambridge Centre fo ...

(2004, 2015, 2018) *

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (''née'' Damji; born 10 December 1949) is a British journalist and author, who describes herself as "a leftie liberal, anti-racist, feminist, Muslim...person". A regular columnist for the ''i '' newspaper and the ''Eveni ...

(2004–2018) *

Nihal Arthanayake Nihal Arthanayake (born 1 June 1971) is a Sri Lankan radio and TV presenter who broadcasts on BBC Radio 5 Live. Early life Nihal Arthanayake was born on 1 June 1971, to Theravada Buddhist, Sri Lankan parents. Nihal began his involvement in t ...

(2005, 2010–2012, 2018) * Melinda Messenger (2005–2007, 2018) *

Carole Malone Carole Anne Malone (born 14 October 1954) is an English TV presenter, journalist and broadcaster. Career Malone was born on 14 October 1954 in the mining village of West Allotment, near Newcastle upon Tyne. She started her career as a journali ...

(2006–2018) * Mica Paris (2007, 2018) *

Amanda Lamb Amanda Lamb (born 19 July 1972) is an English television presenter, property expert and former model who was notable for presenting '' A Place in the Sun'' from 2001 until 2009 and ''You Deserve This House''. Lamb has also had notable appearances ...

(2007–2018) * Anton Du Beke (2008–2009, 2018) *

(2008–2018) * Mark Little (Australian actor) (2009–2018) * Jamelia (2011–2012, 2017–18) *

Scott Capurro Scott Allen Capurro (born December 10, 1962) is an American comedian, writer and actor based in San Francisco. His comedy material is deliberately provocative, referring often to gay life and culture, politics, race and racism, and popular cultu ...

(2011–18) *

Shazia Mirza Shazia Mirza ( ur, ) is an English comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known for her stand-up comedy, and her articles in British newspapers '' The Guardian'' and '' The Daily Telegraph''. Early life and education Mirza was born in Bir ...

(2011–18) * Penny Smith (2012, 2016–18) * Alexis Conran (2012–18) *

Christine Hamilton Mary Christine Hamilton (''née'' Holman; born 10 November 1949) is an English media personality and author. She is married to Neil Hamilton, the former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton. Hamilton and her husband have become p ...

(2012–18) *

Nadine Dorries Nadine Vanessa Dorries (''née'' Bargery, 21 May 1957) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2021 to 2022 under Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A member of the Conservative Party, sh ...

(2013–2015, 2018) * John Barnes (footballer) (2014, 2018) * Dawn Harper (2016–18) * Bobby Friction (2016–18) * Jemma Forte (2017–18) *

Simon Jordan Simon Jordan (born 24 September 1967) is an English businessman who made his fortune in the mobile phone industry. In 2000, he purchased Crystal Palace Football Club and remained chairman of the club until administration in early 2010. In 2002 ...

(2017–18) *

Collabro Collabro were a UK-based musical theatre group and winners of the eighth series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2014. The group consisted of Michael Auger, Jamie Lambert, Matthew Pagan and Thomas J. Redgrave. Richard Hadfield left the band in J ...

's Jamie Lambert (2017–18) * Amanda Prowse (2017–18) * Heidi Allen (2018) * Tracy Brabin (2018) * Susie Boniface (2018) *

Richard Coles Richard Keith Robert Coles (born 26 March 1962) is an English writer, radio presenter and Church of England clergyman who was the vicar of Finedon in Northamptonshire from 2011 to 2022. He first came to prominence as the multi-instrumentalis ...

(2018) * Martin Daubney (2018) * Caroline Flint (2018) * Anne Hegerty (2018) *

Jon Holmes Jon Holmes (born 24 April 1973) is a British comedian, writer, presenter and broadcaster known for his work on such programmes as ''The Now Show'', '' Listen Against'' (for BBC Radio 4), along with both music and spoken word radio. He has ap ...

(2018) * Ashley James (2018) *

Stanley Johnson (writer) Stanley Patrick Johnson (born 18 August 1940) is a French- English author and former Conservative Party politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Wight and Hampshire East from 1979 to 1984. A former employee of the ...

(2018) * Claire King (2018) *

Paris Lees Paris Lees (born 1986) is an English journalist, presenter, campaigner and author. She topped '' The Independent on Sunday''s 2013 Pink List, came second in the 2014 Rainbow List, and was awarded the Positive Role Model Award for LGBT in the 2 ...

(2018) * Aasmah Mir (2018) *

Linda Nolan Linda Nolan (born 23 February 1959) is an Irish singer, actress and television personality. After moving with her family to Blackpool, at the age of three in 1962, she attained fame as a member of the girl group The Nolans in 1974, along with h ...

(2018) *

Kevin O'Sullivan (journalist) Kevin O'Sullivan (born 1960) is an Irish journalist. He was the editor of ''The Irish Times'' newspaper from 2011 to 2017. He was the thirteenth editor of the paper, succeeding Geraldine Kennedy on 23 June 2011,Alex Polizzi (2018) * Eve Pollard (2018) *

Wes Streeting Wesley Paul William Streeting (; born 21 January 1983) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since 2021, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford North since 2015. He serve ...

(2018) * Claire Sweeney (2018) *

Anna Williamson Anna Williamson (born 23 July 1981) is an English television presenter and dating agent. She is known as the former co-presenter of children's programmes '' Rescue Robots'' ''Toonattik'' and ''Action Stations!'' on CITV. In 2019, Williamson beg ...

(2018) *

Courtney Act Shane Gilberto Jenek (born 18 February 1982), better known under the stage name Courtney Act, is an Australian drag queen, singer and television personality. Courtney first came to prominence competing on the first season of '' Australian Id ...

(2018) * Quentin Willson (2000–18) TV critic Ian Hyland from the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national red top tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling English-language newspaper, and at closure still had one ...

'' used to appear on the show every Monday with a review of the week's TV, taking the space of the guest panellist in the final segment of the show. He left when the show was extended to 90 minutes. Hyland returned in April 2010 in a Friday slot but was replaced by ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...

'' columnist Kevin O'Sullivan later that year. When O'Sullivan was unavailable, the '' Daily Stars Mike Ward stepped in. The special guest was often on the show to promote something, like a new film, show or book. Guests on the show have included Morgan Spurlock,

Michael Barrymore Michael Ciaran Parker (born 4 May 1952), known by his stage name Michael Barrymore, is an English actor, comedian and television presenter of game shows and light entertainment programmes on British television in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s ...

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)The International Who's Who of Women, 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and has worked extensively in f ...

, Terry Waite,

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United State ...

Martin Fry Martin David Fry (born 9 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, composer, musician, and record producer. Fry's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the pop band ...

and

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1 ...

(the week that ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'' moved to

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

Format

The format was based upon the more traditional radio phone-in, featuring well-known guests discussing topical issues, and encouraging contributions from the studio and television audiences, text messages, e-mails and a phone vote. When the show was first broadcast it was 60 minutes but it was then extended to 90 minutes. On 10 January 2011, an extended format lasting 1 hour 45 minutes was launched. Until 2018, the show was 2 hours long, starting at 9:15am and ending at 11:15am, and was transmitted as seven parts: # The show began with Wright standing and giving a brief introduction to the show. After the titles, Matthew introduced the panel and has a chat with the day's special guest. This segment usually lasted 15 minutes. # After an advert break, the panel and Wright discussed the "biggest" news story of the day. Viewers comments were not usually given during this segment. This segment usually lasted 10–15 minutes. # When the show returned from its second advert break, the discussion from part 2 continued but this time the panel heard the opinions of callers to the show. This segment usually lasted 5–10 minutes. # When the show returned from its third advert break, the panel talked through the day's papers. The special guest usually had four stories, with the remaining two panellists giving three stories. Most of the news came from the papers, although on occasion breaking news was told from the internet. This segment usually lasted 30 minutes. # This part of the show was the second of the four talking points. Panel discussed first, then callers and audience opinions were heard. This segment usually lasted 10 minutes. # This segment featured the third viewer discussion. This tended to be shorter and lasted around 5 minutes. # This segment started with emails and tweets being read out by Storm (or whoever was standing in as the co-host), then continued with the fourth and final viewer discussion. On Fridays, this part of the show was dedicated solely to a TV review with critic Kevin O'Sullivan or another TV critic in his absence.

Commercial break question

A feature of the programme was a "multiple choice" or "true or false" quiz question posed before the commercial break, usually based on the next discussion topic. The answer was provided at the start of the next segment. This feature has been carried over into Jeremy Vine.

10th birthday

The programme celebrated its 10th birthday on 9 September 2010 with a special 1 hour evening edition broadcast at 20:00 on Channel 5.

Theme tune

The programme had three main theme tunes, the first was similar to the original theme for the BBC's '' Saturday Kitchen Live''. The second had been modified on several occasions from its launch until the end of 2010. From January 2011 until the show's end in 2018, an upbeat theme tune in a retro jazzy 1960s style was used and has been carried over into Jeremy Vine.

Controversies

In 2002, the show was at the centre of a media scandal when Wright "accidentally" named John Leslie on air as the anonymous rapist mentioned in Ulrika Jonsson's autobiography. Since this time, Wright has been notably reticent about discussing issues that involve "unnamed" celebrities, such as the 2006 "football player and mobile phone" scandal – often remarking "given my previous record on certain issues, I feel more than a little nervous discussing this". In May 2008, the show came under scrutiny from animal rights group

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, a ...

. The group claimed that the fishbowl containing ''Wright Stuff'' fish, Brad and Jen, was too small. On the 27 May show, Wright told viewers that the show's resident vet would look into the matter. On 13 August 2008, Asian entrepreneur James Caan appeared on the programme and mocked

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

wearing a kilt. Caan held up a copy of a UK daily newspaper, which showed the Prince wearing a kilt, and remarked that people should not take him too seriously because he was wearing a "skirt". He apologised later in the show, saying he had not meant to cause offence. Caan also offered to return to the show in future wearing a kilt, though he did not fulfil this promise. On 4 October 2011, a day after the American Amanda Knox was acquitted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, Wright sparked criticism by opening a discussion on whether viewers would consider "going back to Knox's room after meeting her in a bar". A spokesperson for the show said the debate – which was based on a long-standing media caricature of Knox as "Foxy Knoxy" – had been "handled extremely sensitively". Wright apologised a day later, saying he had "framed the debate in the wrong way". On 6 December 2011, Wright joked about the murder on 5 December of Liam Aitchison, a 16-year-old boy, on the Scottish

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis ( gd, Eilean Leòdhais) or simply Lewis ( gd, Leòdhas, ) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to a ...

. During the show he put on a mock Scottish accent and said "there's been another murder", copying a phrase from detective show '' Taggart''. He apologised for this but said to those organising a complaint to

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

that they should "grow up". On 10 May 2012, it was reported the show was being investigated by Ofcom over a survey on the 26 April edition that asked viewers what the most offensive word is to describe someone with learning difficulties. The show received many prank calls from the public only to make a highly controversial comment by using inappropriate language on air. This often resulted in a significant overreaction from Wright, whose hilariously hysterical reactions are thought to prompt more people to make prank calls on the show. Callers often engaged with the discussion initially to gain credibility, then making inappropriate comments. They often shouted multiple expletives or would make a personal attack on a person who the caller wanted to expose on live national TV, for example an ex-partner. It is thought that a handful of individuals were persistent prank callers and appeared on the live phone ins on many occasions without being recognised. On 8 April 2015, the show received a prank call. While discussing a new play based on Jimmy Savile, a caller rang in on the pretence of being outraged by such a production, only to suddenly break into singing a WCW theme "American Males", presumably on the tenuous link that Savile himself had started out as a wrestler. In 2018, Wright came under criticism from fans of wrestling-based YouTube group Cultaholic, following a flippant remark about one of the group's members, Adam Pacitti. In response, Pacitti requested to appear on The Wright Stuff. His request was eventually granted, but was cancelled shortly before the show was due to start.

Popular culture references

In 2003, Wright appeared in the video for " Proper Crimbo" the Christmas single released from the team behind '' Bo' Selecta''. In a spoof of the

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

video for "

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

". In the video Wright took the place of the girl in the car, while instead of morphing into a wolf, the Michael Jackson character morphed into John Leslie who "wanted a word" with Matthew Wright, a reference to Wright revealing the John Leslie scandal by mistake on his show. In 2006, ''The Wright Stuff'' featured in the third episode of the second series of ''Extras''. Both Wright and Lowri Turner were discussing the fictional incidents of the characters that had appeared in the press. Wright has since revealed on his show that he receives a small repeat fee every time the episode is shown. The show was also referred to in the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...

series ''Drop Dead Gorgeous'', the character of Murray Priestman saying he liked to start his day by watching it.

References

External links

*
''The Wright Stuff''
page at Matthew Wright's website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright Stuff, The 2000s British television talk shows 2010s British television talk shows 2000 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings British television talk shows Channel 5 (British TV channel) original programming English-language television shows Television series by Endemol Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Anglia Television