''Working Lunch'' is a

television programme A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

which was broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

covering

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

personal finance Personal finance is the financial management that an individual or a family unit performs to budget, save, and spend monetary resources in a controlled manner, taking into account various financial risks and future life events. When planni ...

and

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or use 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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

business shows such as '' World Business Report''. In April 2010, the BBC announced that the programme was being cancelled at the end of July 2010. '' GMT'' with

George Alagiah George Maxwell Alagiah (; 22 November 1955 – 24 July 2023) was a British newsreader, journalist and television presenter for the BBC. From 2007 until 2022, he was the presenter of the '' BBC News at Six'' and the main presenter of '' GMT'' on ...

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 channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

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 weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...

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

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

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 ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. Jenny Culshaw, a senior producer on the show, also occasionally presented items. Other members of the Working Lunch team included Rachel Burden, Simon Gompertz, Rachel Horne, Rob Pittam and Gillian Lacey-Solymar. From 6 October 2008, a revamped lineup saw ''

BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is a British television breakfast news programme, produced by BBC News and broadcast on BBC One every morning from 6:00am. It is also broadcast on the UK feed of BBC News channel on weekends. The simulcast is presented live, ...

s former business presenter, Declan Curry, and

Naga Munchetty Subha Nagalakshmi Munchetty-Chendriah (born 25 February 1975), known professionally as Naga Munchetty, is an English television presenter, newsreader and journalist. She is a regular presenter on ''BBC Breakfast'', and hosts an 11am-2pm progra ...

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 Declan Curry and

, the latter joining from

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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, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

and some sports tournaments coverage, such as

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

, the

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and

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

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 Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

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-Italian architect noted for his modernist and constructivist designs in high-tech architecture. He was the founder at Rogers Stirk Harbour + ...

Lloyd's 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, London, Lime Street, in London's main financial d ...

. 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 Clip art (also clipart, clip-art) is a type of graphic art. Pieces are pre-made images used to illustrate any medium. Today, clip art is used extensively and comes in many forms, both electronic and printed. However, most clip art today is crea ...

" style.

References

External links