Joan Rivers thrown off Loose Women

Posted by Stewart Turner

American comedienne Joan Rivers isn’t exactly renowned for her tact and decorum, but being thrown off ITV’s daytime talk show Loose Women is on another level.

Joan’s crime – if you can call it that – was to stun the audience by referring to Hollywood hardman Russell Crowe as “a f***ing s***” on live TV, although she insists that she thought the programme went out with a time lag. “I thought there was a seven-second delay,” she told MediaGuardian.co.uk.”They earlier showed a picture of a man with an obvious erection under his coat so I thought it would be all right."

Joan was on the programme to promote her West End show Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress and was due to return to the panel after a commercial break. Instead, she was forcibly ejected from the studio after 48 viewers complained - a decision which prompted the ever-caustic Joan to shriek: "This is ITV - I want a recount!"

Anyway, just in case you have a day job and missed the whole debacle, someone’s helpfully gone and stuck it on YouTube. Obviously, it contains strong language and Russell Crowe references, so don’t click if either of these might offend you.

Natasha Kaplinsky's wardrobe

Posted by Will Parkhouse

If the news of Natasha’s £1m salary got on your Kaplinskies, then this should wind you up even more. Apparently the newly-recruited Five newsreader is getting an additional big pile of raw cash to spend on clothes, even though she’s been asked to dress down for the job.

“You would think earning a million would mean you could buy your own clothes, but Natasha has hefty expense on top for her wardrobe,” a TV insider told the Daily Mirror. “This is not a small amount. We are talking thousands of pounds.”

This just in: life not fair.

25 Years Of Breakfast TV

Posted by Alan Tyers

A quarter of a century ago, Selina Scott and Frank Bough emerged blinking into the early morning light to present the BBC's new Breakfast Time programme.

It was all very exciting at the time, as I remember. Live telly! In the morning! I wasn’t old enough to appreciate fully the wonderfulness of Ms Scott, but I do remember the Green Goddess vividly. Diana Moran, the GG's alter ego, was the show's occasional fitness guru, which seemed an extremely exotic calling. Her leotard remains one of TV's most memorable wardrobe aberrations; the less said about Frank's wardrobe the better.

There was a pleasingly homely sort of atmosphere about Breakfast Time which contrasted with the ITV version that emerged a month later. Michael Parkinson, David Frost, Angela Rippon, Anna Ford and co's approach on the commercial station was too heavy for that time of the morning – and ratings were appropriately disappointing.

It's safe to say that breakfast TV has not made the same mistakes since: the BBC show is now news-based until around 8.30am and then more light and feature-ish in tone – presumably on the assumption that business types are on their way to work by then. The brain can then be fully unplugged by mid-morning in time for Phil'n'Fern’s This Morning over on ITV.

If you want real politicians dodging real questions, BBC Radio 4's Today remains the gold standard, and Sky is more focused on breaking news first. But the BBC’s Breakfast is still a solid start to the day.

SEE ALSO:
25 years of breakfast TV - the stars >>
Best newsreaders >>

News At Ten, ITV1, Monday, 10pm (obviously)

Posted by Alan Tyers

News At Ten returns tonight. ITV has brought Sir Trevor McDonald back, going head-to-head with the BBC with the relaunch of its flagship news programme after an absence of eight years.

As glamorous new presenter Julie Etchingham – poached from Sky News to work alongside Sir Trevor and fellow ITV mainstay Mark Austin – says: "It's an iconic programme with an extraordinary history, and a genuine place in people's affections."

Or is it?

Sir Trevor is certainly an iconic figure. But in these days of rolling news channels, internet feeds and free evening newspapers, how many people really need their information in one big chunk at the end of the day? Newsnight on BBC2 already has brilliant analysis – I can't see News At Ten taking that angle on.

Suits at ITV are gearing up for the fight, promising cutting-edge technology and all the rest as they take on the BBC. But really, News At Ten’s big strength is the gravitas that Sir Trevor brings.

However, at 68, he clearly can't go on for ever – and rumour has it he’s going to see the programme through the relaunch and then step aside.

Without him, what place does it really have in people's affections, bombastic theme tune notwithstanding?

SEE ALSO:
Britain's greatest newsreaders >>