Richard and Judy could return to ITV

by Claire Billings, Brand Republic 11-Mar-02, 12:45

LONDON - Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan could return to ITV to present 'This Morning', amid reports that executives are trying to lure them back to boost daytime ratings, which plummeted when the couple joined Channel 4 in a £2m deal.

The husband-and-wife team are believed to be unhappy at Channel 4 and it is thought that the axe could fall on their afternoon 'Richard and Judy' magazine show if ratings fail to improve on the 1.9m it is currently achieving.

Meanwhile, ITV's 'This Morning' -- where the couple used to regularly draw 3m viewers -- is struggling with around 1m viewers after replacement presenters for the celebrity couple, such as Twiggy and Coleen Nolan, failed to make an impact on viewing figures.

ITV executives are understood to have approached the couple about returning to the channel, despite the fact that ITV director of programming David Liddiment was furious with them when they left.

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