News

The latest news about TV-am and TV-am people. Scroll down for older stories.

TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT RETURNS TO TV-am

Above, TV-am's remote camera control panels rescued from the skip at ITV Yorkshire! Thanks to Peter McNerney for getting in touch and making sure this bit of TV-am's technical history is preserved for years to come. Remote controlled cameras were used in TV-am's network of regional studios across the UK - Glasgow, Newcastle, Belfast, Manchester, Bradford, Birmingham, Peterborough and Cardiff.

TV-am NEWS VANS CAPTURED ON CAMERA

Thanks to John Fernandez for this excellent photograph of some TV-am OB vehicles, taken in the summer of 1983 when "Good Morning Britain" went 'By the Seaside'. John says this picture has survived ten house moves and is still in good condition. If you have anything TV-am related, you can always contact us. We'd love to hear from you.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS....NAVY DAYS!

The latest addition to the TV-am archive is this rare copy of the Portsmouth Navy magazine "Navy Days". You'll see the front cover features a scene from the opening titles to "Good Morning Britain" . Inside the notes explain: "HMS Hermes - the pride of Britain! The photograph was taken when 550 members of the ship's company formed up on the flight deck to put the "Britain" into TV-am's breakfast show Good Morning Britain." The navy logo is not too dis-similar to TV-am's either!

NICK OWEN, WINCEY WILLIS, LIZZIE WEBB AND ANNE DIAMOND - BACK TOGETHER FOR BREAKFAST!

Former TV-am presenters Nick Owen and Anne Diamond teamed up with colleagues Wincey Willis and Lizzie Webb to front the early morning news and magazine show on BBC London 94.9FM from Tuesday 27th May 2008. Nick and Anne were standing in for regular radio hosts Paul Ross and JoAnne Good. Wincey did the weather and Lizzie put listeners (and some well known personalities) through their paces. The four have not presented together since Nick left TV-am in 1986. Producers at BBC London thought it would be good to reunite the TV-am team as it's almost 25 years to the week that they were first brought together by Greg Dyke to front "Good Morning Britain". www.bbc.co.uk/london .

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS AS TV-am REACHES 25th BIRTHDAY

TV-am presenters gathered in London to raise a glass to the station's 25th anniversary. The low-key celebration at the BBC's Television Centre in West London saw Anne Diamond re-united with former co-presenter Nick Owen, health and fitness presenter Lizzie Webb and celebrity chef Rustie Lee. Photos and full details on our special 25th anniversary page.

TV-am & GMTV - CELEBRATING TWENTY FIVE YEARS OF BREAKFAST TV

For the first time in their history TV-am and GMTV have worked together to celebrate 25 years of breakfast television on ITV. The TV-am website and museum helped co-ordinate a week of special programmes hosted by Lorraine Kelly to mark the anniversary. Some well known TV-am faces were invited onto "LK Today" to remember their days on "Good Morning Britain". We sent fitness presenter Lizzie Webb to GMTV's studios on London's South Bank to meet up with some old friends, including Roland Rat, Lorraine Kelly and GMTV make up artist Simon Jay who also worked at TV-am.

STARS SEND ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS

She's famous for being the nervous neighbour on BBC comedy show "Keeping Up Appearances", but in the 1980s actress Josephine Tewson was a familiar face on TV-am. She was regularly seen during commercial breaks starring alongside the Honey Monster, advertising breakfast cereal Sugar Puffs. In the advert Josephine played a strict school teacher who got a big electric shock that made her hair stand on end. Josephine, also famous for her roles in "Shelley" and "Last of the Summer Wine" sent TV-am her best wishes for the 25th anniversary. Meanwhile, all round entartainer Faith Brown remembers her many appearances on "Good Morning Britain". In the picture below she's clutching a photo of her appearance on TV-am on Christmas Day 1986. Faith told us "I loved TV-am. It was always such a laugh. I remember dressing up as Dustie Lee one morning - Rustie Lee's sister! Poor Rustie couldn't stop laughing because I was wearing a pair of tights over my head and imitating her infectious cackle. It brought chaos to Rustie's kitchen!"

RUSTIE COOKS UP THE TASTE OF THE CARIBBEAN

She was one of TV-am's most popular faces, now celebrity chef, singer and all round entertainer Rustie Lee is back! Already a regular on shows like ITV1's "This Morning", Rustie has given in to demand from viewers and put some her favourite recipes into a brand new cook book. ‘Rustie Lee – A Taste of the Caribbean’ (published Friday December 7, 2007) is her first recipe book since 1984. Recipes include Caribbean favourites such as Rice and Peas, Ackee and Saltfish, Jerk Chicken and traditional Journey Cakes. The most sought after has to be her famous recipe for Caribbean Christmas Cake which generated a huge response from TV-am viewers when she made it live on "Good Morning Britain" in December 1984. Rustie can be seen cooking 12 of her favourite dishes on a free DVD which accompanies the book. The DVD was partly filmed in Jamaica, with Rustie returning to her home country for the first time in ten years. Rustie told us: "I had a lot of fun compiling the book and filming the DVD. I hope people will have a lot of fun trying the recipes and experiencing a taste of the Caribbean." ‘Rustie Lee – A Taste of the Caribbean’, published by HandE, is available from bookshops priced £24.

TV-am's LIZZIE PROVES SHE'S GOT THE X FACTOR!

TV-am's keep fit queen "Mad" Lizzie Webb has been into the X Factor house to give contestant Andy a workout after the stress of the competition drove him to comfort eating. It got so bad he piled the pounds on and was in desperate need of Lizzie's expert knowledge to get him trim again! Fear not...it was not for real...Andy and Lizzie were taking part in a comdey sketch for the hit show Xtra Factor which appears on ITV2 on Saturday nights. Even so, Andy was still put through his paces as Lizzie proved she's fitter than ever. Sadly Andy was voted out of the competition on Saturday 10th November 2007, so Lizzie is giving her backing to popular contestant Rhydian. She said, "Rhyd has enormous talent and is going to be a huge star - his voice is amazing. Vote for Rhydian!"

Above Lizzie with the XFactor contestants, including Rhydian and Andy (shirtless).

TV-am STUDIOS RESTORED TO FORMER GLORY

The former headquarters of TV-am have finally been given a much needed lick of paint. The studios, now home to MTV, have been restored to their former glory which includes all the original TV-am colours on the outside of the building and the fantatstic sunshine archway. The studios were designed by award winning architect Sir Terry Farrell and were completed in 1983 for the launch of breakfast television in Britain. They're the first example of post modern architecture in the UK and have won several awards. MTV took them over in 1993 and quickly painted the exterior blue and grey, leaving them looking a little shabby when viewed from Hawley Crescent. Now, though, they look as good as new and you can still almost make out the big T V A M letters at each end of the building. If you're passing through Camden Town they're well worth a look!

LIFE'S A BEACH FOR TV-am's GORDON

He may now have turned 70, but former TV-am news presenter Gordon Honeycombe is showing no signs of slowing down, and why should he? Gordon, also a successful author and actor, has just finished work on the screenplay of his fourteenth book, "Beach". It's set in Perth, Australia where he's lived since emigrating in 1993. Gordon joined TV-am in January 1984 and spent five years as the station's senior newscaster. Gordon's amazing life story is told on his own website www.gordonhoneycombe.com which is full of photographs and memories. The scrapbook section holds lots of information about his years at TV-am. Below, a recent photo of Gordon with friend in Australia.

RIVERDANCE DUO'S LATEST PRODUCTION PUTS "THE PIRATE QUEEN" ON BROADWAY

They met while working at TV-am in the 1980s and their partnership has gone from strength to strength. Former programme controller John McColgan and reporter/presenter Moya Doherty are already world famous as the people behind the hugely successful "Riverdance". It's a far cry from those early mornings at Camden Lock which would often see John producing and directing "Good Morning Britain" and Moya hosting "After Nine" or "Reunions". The pair's latest project sees them working on Boubil and Schonberg's new musical "The Pirate Queen" . It charts the life of Irish Chieftain Grace O'Malley, an inspirational heroine who led a life as a pirate in 16th Century Ireland. There's more information on their websites www.riverdance.com and www.thepiratequeen.com .

TV-am PIONEERS REUNITED FOR RADIO 4 PROGRAMME

Key members of TV-am's first year team have been reunited to remember the turbulent early months of the breakfast TV company. Sue MacGregor presented "The Reunion" on BBC Radio 4 FM and spoke to former TV-am Chairman Peter Jay; Howell James, TV-am's first press officer; shareholder Jonathan Aitken; Nick Owen, who began on the sports desk before moving over to become the channel's face of the 80s; and Greg Dyke, the man credited with turning the station around. The TV-am website was able to provide help and research material to the programme's researchers at Whistledown Productions. Thanks to them for the photo below which shows (left to right) Jonathan Aitken, Nick Owen (standing), Greg Dyke, Peter Jay (standing), Sue MacGregor and Howell James. "The Reunion" is a Whistedown Production for BBC Radio 4. www.whistledown.net .

Speaking on the programme, Peter Jay told Sue MacGregor: "For me it was the most exciting three years, probably of my life and, perhaps even more than being an ambassador in Washington. I am incredibly proud of some of the things. We won a franchise against difficult competition with seven others. We built a company from nothing. I found and created a studio out of an old garage where I bought my first motorcar and I was extremely proud of those studios. My personal involvement ended up in melodrama...but I look back on the whole thing with enormous affection and pride. I was extremely proud of what we achieved in that period."

TV-AM BROLLY MAKES NEW APPEARANCE ON CANADIAN BREAKFAST TV

Mystery surrounds the recent appearance of a TV-am umbrella on a Canadian television breakfast show. CFRB Talk Radio's John Moore was seen holding the brolly while being interviewed live on CTVAM. We got in touch with John to ask about it and he told us he hadn't a clue where it came from. "It was just handed to me by the news crew seconds before we went on air", he said. No one at CTV was able to help solve the mystery either!

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