C4 considers Richard and Judy to replace RI:SE

by Claire Billings,, Brand Republic 21-Oct-02, 10:55

LONDON - Channel 4 is considering replacing its ailing breakfast show RI:SE with a morning chat show fronted by celebrity husband and wife team Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan.

Doubts about the future of RI:SE have dogged the show since its launch in April. The programme has yet to prove a credible replacement for the Big Breakfast, which was axed when its ratings fell to below 300,000.

RI:SE was dealt another blow this morning when one of its presenters, Colin Murray, quit the show with six months left to run on his contract.

RI:SE has failed to match Big Breakfast's audience figures, which passed 1m in its heyday, with average viewing figures of just 200,000.

A spokeswoman for RI:SE said that Channel 4 had no plans to axe the breakfast show and that the channel "will be honouring its two-year contract with RI:SE creator Princess Productions".

The move to the breakfast slot of Richard and Judy would solve two problems for Channel 4 bosses. Channel 4 is understood to be in a quandary about how to boost its breakfast slot, and how to best use the expensive celebrity couple who it poached from ITV.

Richard and Judy's late afternoon show is failing to shine, attracting around 1m viewers compared with the 3m the pair used to draw on ITV's This Morning before they signed their £2m deal with Channel 4.

It would also go some way to repairing the increasingly strained relationship between the station and the couple. Reports suggest that Madelely has pulled out of Celebrity Big Brother as questions were raised about the future of the early evening show.

Channel 4 has so far denied that it was planning to axe Richard & Judy.

On Friday, Channel 4’s director of programmes Tim Gardam issued a statement to quash speculation that he was set to axe Richard and Judy.

Gardam said: "I want to make it clear that, contrary to press reports, Channel 4 has not cancelled Richard & Judy. Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan are two of Britain’s most popular and professional broadcasters and their programme has returned to Channel 4 this autumn with confidence. The audience has increased by over a third since its return. The channel and the producers continue to work closely on the show’s progress."

Channel 4 is undergoing a major restructuring of its schedule - including the axing of Brookside - and its operations, which will see the loss of 200 jobs, mostly from the main channel. It has also increased its programming budget to £430m.

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