MISJUDGING THE AUDIENCE
Four of the show’s key figures – Chiles, Bleakley, editor Ian Rumsey and deputy editor Paul Connolly – came from The One Show, but a programme shown at 7pm on BBC1 attracts a very different audience to an ITV breakfast show.
The One Show’s viewers are mostly male and over 50, whereas GMTV’s viewers were mostly young mothers – and the latter do not appreciate the changes.
‘A lot of GMTV viewers didn’t really know who Chiles and Bleakley were before they started on Daybreak,’ says a source.
‘They don’t want a surly man and a young, highly polished woman who’s in the papers with her footballer boyfriend. Equally, the editors are using tricks which work in the evening – the wacky stories, for example – but don’t translate to morning TV.’
MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN
ITV’s enormous investment in Daybreak started with its takeover of GMTV last November. The channel paid £22 million buying the Walt Disney Company’s 25 per cent share of the programme to give it complete control.
Hiring presenters Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley cost a total of £10 million, and bosses Connolly and Rumsey are on six-figure salaries.
The studio alone cost £1 million, while a further £2-3 million was spent on marketing for the new brand. Failing to recoup any of this would be a disaster.
WE'RE IN THE DARK
The plush new studio on London’s South Bank offers a panoramic view of the capital’s skyline, but its biggest selling point has become one of the show’s most spectacular disasters.
When the programme launched on September 6, sunrise was at 6.21am, shortly after its 6am start. But as winter approaches, the sky outside the studio is remaining dark for longer, rendering the view invisible.
ITV have resorted to paying to have St Paul’s Cathedral lit up every morning in a bid to alleviate the gloom.
The decor, too, is cause for complaint, with its minimalist wood-effect floors and walls, purple sofas and an internally-lit circular coffee table disliked by viewers who feel it has a stark, cold feel.
Producers have responded by adding fresh flowers to bring warmth, but to little effect.
A-LIST BUMS ON SEATS
The show has managed to pull in some big-name celebrities, including Tony Blair, Prince Charles and Ben Affleck, yet these interviews have been described as ‘stilted’ and ‘awkward’, with Blair allowed to plug his autobiography without much real questioning.
Producers are under increasing pressure to attract the ‘right’ guests.
One crew member says: ‘We keep being told we need A-list bums on seats, and we’re not coming up with enough.’
According to an ITV insider, executives have now let other programmes, including Loose Women and The Alan Titchmarsh Show, know that Daybreak has first claim on celebrity guests.
Predictably, this news has not been warmly received.
And what could be the nail in the coffin. Hilarious!
THE UKELELE-STRUMMING BOSS
...Known for being a ‘larger-than-life’ character on set is Paul Connolly, the deputy editor who was brought over from the BBC by his close friend Adrian Chiles when he left The One Show.
Connolly, who used to work on Channel 4’s Big Breakfast, is understood to earn a six-figure salary for coming up with Daybreak’s ideas but spends much of his time wandering around the newsroom strumming a ukelele, which he can’t actually play, in an attempt to encourage creativity.
We will have to see if Paul's ukelele works its magic and recatalyzes the Chiles/Bleakley chemistry. I look forward to see how this pans out. We can rely on The Daily Mail to spare no one's blushes if it all goes wrong.
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