GMTV (1993 - 2010)

It wasn't a GMTV Press Release, it was in the entertainment news section of the website, which is just content from the Press Association.

Presumably someone saw sense and removed it, given that the headline flippently refers to 'The great GMTV exodous' as if it was something to be celebrated. Pretty insensitive article for the broadcaster to have up about one of their employees, without an official press release, and seemingly it's been removed.

This was the article : http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gTymusMLHJKhLZO8O2ER1X6GT2jA

I just don't see though why when they're really trying to change the image and appeal of the breakfast show they'd be keeping the person arguably most associated with it - and certainly the most "GMTV" of the presenters - on.

exactly ! that's what I was saying! ok they might want to keep someone recongnisable like Emma or Helen so not to alienate the current audience, but why would you keep the person who's completely assosiated with it - after Fiona, Kate is the most assosiated with GMTV!

Although there's no reliable info to say Kate's staying, so it might still change!

Kirsty has tweeted that after Kylie did the weather with her this morning, now she knows who could "cover my maternity leave". Can we assume from this that Kirsty will be returning to the new breakfast show after having her baby?!

For now maybe.
Under employment regulations, Terms and Conditions of employment cannot change whilst on maternity leave.
However they can change once the Mum has returned.

She can still be made redundant while on Maternity Leave, just not because she's on Mat/Leave. She's no more protected than any other employee.

Perhaps not by law, but as mentioned in previous pages, the new breakfast show wouldn't want to have a scandal of making someone pregnant redundant. I think she'll likely stay.

Were there any other bidders apart from TV-am and what became GMTV for the franchise back in 1992, and what about back when TV-am began? Were any regions for example keen to do their own thing at breakfast rather than have a national breakfast franchise?

Sorry to ask this question when it has probably already been asked 100's of times. Does anyone know what the main names are in the running for the new show?

the itv one show

It was only a national franchise being advertised, a regional bid wouldn't have been accepted.

Yes, there was one other bid in the 1993 franchise round, a company called - surprise! - Daybreak which was developed by former TVam editor (and Mr Anne Diamond) Mike Hollingsworth, and was backed by ITN, Carlton, Meridian and The Children's Channel. But they didn't bid enough - although they did bid more than TVam. Of course GMTV was called Sunrise at the time, it had to change its name because Sky News complained.

For the original franchise there were dozens, even though the original IBA bidding document made it clear that they would only offer the franchise if there was a particularly compelling bid and they had the right to turn them all down and just not do it. They all had dull names like Morning TV, AMT and AMTV, I know one had Tim Rice and Ned Sherrin on the board and David Dimbleby was involved in another one. ITN also bid, and the reason they were always frosty towards TVam and also GMTV was because they failed to win it on both occasions. But the TVam lot were so famous they were always going to win.

Although a national franchise was offered, when they did the Broadcasting Act at the end of the eighties to decide upon the new franchise procedure, a couple of ITV companies suggested that the breakfast franchise was pointless and should be abandoned. For what it's worth, if ITV do nothing else with the new GMTV, they should at least stop ending at 9.25, a stupid time that has always annoyed me, there used to be a reason for it - so the regions could do the news before the schools programmes - but that's not been the case for over twenty years.