Best presenters in the country (Richard & Judy)

Member Name: Feefo

Product:	Richard & Judy
Date:	11/03/05 (2565 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Married couple fight live!, Some items are fantastic

Disadvantages: No official recognition yet, Interviews with stars too short, Some items dull

Richard and Judy

The presenter couple started out on the programme This Morning and decided to have their own show after 13 years named after themselves. They were pipped at the post in the last tv awards by This Morning the show they were hosts of previously which is now hosted by stalwarts Phillip Scofield and Fern Britten. This Morning looked like it was going to go under at one point after R and J left, it had Twiggy, Coleen Nolan (Shane Richie's ex-wife) and for a while Fern co-hosted with the ill-fated Scottish John Leslie, then it picked up finally and settled down with Phil and Fern.

So R and J moved to Channel 4 at prime time 5pm until 6pm. After a very shaky start, they made the teatime slot their own.

They have a slightly kooky regular slot competition called You Say we Pay where quite a lot of cheating goes on. It involves a screen behind the couple showing a picture to be described to the couple by the player over the phone but they mustn't say any of the words on screen to describe it. The picture can be anything from a fruit, a gadget to a filmstar.
If time runs out, the buzzer goes and the player hasn't done very well, R and J will give them an extra go and therefore a bit more money.

They do have some big stars that come on to the show and have interviews with them although as it is a magazine show, the interviews tend to be on the short side. They did interview Madonna, Nicholas Lyndhurst from Only Fools and Horses and Goodnight Sweetheart and Ricky Gervais today from The Office. More recently they had the PM on but his appearance was made humiliating by his inability to play You say We pay.

One big reason to tune in for me is to see Richard's lousy jokes or foot in mouth comments to Judy who will either snap at him or laugh outright at his sillyness. It is their relationship which keeps me interested but I enjoy other elements also.

Richard was very thrilled to make a tv first recently by holding the first interactive wine club. They got selected wines together, made them available for sale to the public then would conduct a weekly lesson on tasting with two experts and a particular wine to taste alongside the public. Very good if you only work days but not so good if you work nights!.

They have also managed to create their regular Book Club slot on Wednesdays. Currently they have two books to be reviewed still which are Perdita and My Sister's Keeper. I bought three of the other books, The Time Traveller's Wife, The Shadow on the Wind and The Jane Austen Book Club. As Richard says (who clearly must read at least 1-2 books a week which is very impressive in itself) their programme appeals to the more intellectual viewer. Their time slot which was fought for so hard has now been easily engaged by the likes of Des and Mel and Lilly Savage aka Paul O'Grady.


Richard Madely
His date of birth is 13 May 1956 and he was born in Romford, Essex in England. He has two children with Judy, Jack and Chloe.

Judy Finnigan
Her date of birth is 16 May 1948 and she was born in Manchester, England. Judy has children from her first marriage. Richard and Judy met and fell in love when it was all rather forbidden and Judy was still married.

What's next?
Gloria Hunniford has interviewed them and they say that they do not know but Judy tells us that if it no longer is fun to do things like this programme then she will gladly hang up her interviewer's hat. But until then perhaps they will win official recognition for this programme which has done ground breaking things such as an interactive book and wine club and interviews with important celebs such as the President.

The pair still get some of their This Morning crew to appear and give their opinions on certain topics eg Raj Persaud psychologist and Denise Roberts (Agony Aunt).
There are some slightly dodgy parts of the show, eg a slot where an interviewer goes out into the field and gets people off the street to compare foods. This kind of stuff is frankly boring and a bit reminiscent of shows like Graham Norton but without the comedy. While the show remains a bit hit and miss like this it will probably be unlikely to gain an award from the critics or the public but they do have a large and regular public now, myself included.

They did temporarily hire Abi Titmuss (ex girlfriend of John Leslie) as a reporter but that went belly up when rather salacious allegations appeared against her and her ex in the press and she was promptly dismissed.

They do aim to help people though, with self help items on health, fashion, topicality, controversial issues with help lines available for people who need it.
On the O'Grady show Richard tells us that it is suitable for the less intellectual viewer who really just wants a laugh.

The Book Club incorporates a book club from around the country each week who discuss the book and the public promotion of all the books including in book stores around the country. People can join in interactively with the review on Wednesday by having read the book beforehand and get more out of the review by Richard, Judy and two different reviewers who are minor celebs/intellectuals.

Long live Richard and Judy. I love Judy's nervous, almost epileptic performance and her disciplining stern way of dealing with her husband. She is utterly charming and easy to relate to and identify with. Richard is admirable, rarely makes a slip, is a very adequate presenter and comes across as affable and intelligent although sometimes big headed. I used to enjoy This Morning mainly for these two and have to say that I don't particularly go out of my way to watch it now that R and J are no longer presenters of the programme. I do regularly make a date to watch this though.

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