''Working Lunch'' is a

television programme A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

which was broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

covering

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

personal finance Personal finance is the financial management which an individual or a family unit performs to budget, save, and spend monetary resources over time, taking into account various financial risks and future life events. When planning personal fi ...

and

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...

news; it was broadcast between 1994 and 2010. The programme was first aired on 19 September 1994. It had a quirky, relaxed style, especially when compared to other BBC business shows such as ''

World Business Report ''World Business Report'' is a television business news programme produced by BBC News and shown on BBC World News, the BBC News Channel and BBC One on weekdays. There are two editions broadcast each weekday, at 0530 and 0630 GMT as a result of ...

''. In April 2010, the BBC announced that the programme was being cancelled at the end of July 2010. '' GMT'' with George Alagiah took its place in the schedule at 12:30 on BBC Two.

Presenters and reporters

Originally, the show was presented by

Adrian Chiles Adrian Chiles (born 21 March 1967) is a British writer and television and radio presenter. He has co-presented both '' The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–2011) with Christine Lampard. He was also the chief presenter for fo ...

and Adam Shaw. Chiles left the programme on 26 January 2007 after years, to become the co-host of the

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, ...

current affairs and lifestyle programme ''

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 ...

''. He was replaced by Nik Wood. On Fridays,

Paddy O'Connell Guy Patrick O'Connell (born 11 March 1966 in Guildford, Surrey) is an English television and radio presenter, working mainly for the BBC. He presents BBC Radio 4's ''Broadcasting House'' programme each Sunday morning. He is also an occasional ...

fronted the show with Shaw instead of Wood. Both O'Connell and Shaw bowed out on 26 September 2008. In 2007, former footballer Graeme Le Saux presented a series of items recorded in his birthplace of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...

. Jenny Culshaw, a senior producer on the show, also occasionally presented items. Other members of the Working Lunch team included

Rachel Burden Rachel Mary Ann Cecilia Burden (born 22 January 1975 in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England) is a newsreader, radio news reporter and presenter. She has presented the BBC Radio 5 Live weekday breakfast show since 2011. She is also one of the main we ...

, Simon Gompertz, Rachel Horne, Rob Pittam and Gillian Lacey-Solymar. From 6 October 2008, a revamped lineup saw ''

BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from the BBC Television Centre, London before ...

s former business presenter,

Declan Curry Declan Gerald Curry (born 5 September 1971) is a Northern Irish freelance journalist, news presenter and businessman, best known as the former business correspondent for ''BBC Breakfast''. Early life Curry was born and raised in Strabane, County ...

, and Naga Munchetty take over studio presentation, with Wood returning to his former role of roving reporter, alongside Rob Pittam. Gillian Lacey-Solymar left the show on 29 January 2010. The show had a regular cast of experts like Justin Urquhart Stewart.

2008 relaunch

The show was relaunched on 6 October 2008, with new titles, set and presenters. The familiar goldfish and shark were replaced by a piggy bank. Presenters

, Adam Shaw and Nik Wood, were replaced by

and Naga Munchetty, the latter joining from Bloomberg TV.

Broadcast schedule

The show had a regular weekday slot at 12.30pm until 1pm, except on Wednesdays when it was broadcast an hour later. The programme was broadcast for 42 weeks of the year, taking a break for

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

and some sports tournaments coverage, such as Wimbledon, the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Graphics

The original title sequence created by Piers Helm, featured a real goldfish and a rubber shark in a tank that contained the programme's subject matter represented as

kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation wi ...

fish tank objects. These objects were a treasure chest, bank, factory and a version of the

Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British architect noted for his modernist and Functionalism (architecture), functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He was a senior partner a ...

Lloyds building The Lloyd's building (sometimes known as the Inside-Out Building) is the home of the insurance institution Lloyd's of London. It is located on the former site of East India House in Lime Street, in London's main financial district, the City of ...

. The title sequence led to a virtual set that was designed to look like a converted warehouse when in fact, the studio it came from was the smallest BBC News studio. By 2000, the title sequence had been changed by BBC Design to a computer generated sequence in which a goldfish is trying to escape from a shark on board a sunken ship. The programme graphics also reflected this style with a marine-themed studio background. Other graphics were in a "crude clipart" style.

References

External links