BTCC is back...and better than ever

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Sunday, 30 March 2014 marks the start of the 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. One of motorsport’s most popular series’, certainly in the UK anyway is set for one of its most exciting seasons in its established history. The BTCC has been around since 1958 and has undergone radical reforms from class systems and night racing, to the super touring era of the 1990s. However none of these periods have what the fans can look forward to this season, as no fewer than seven…YES SEVEN champions line-up on the grid for the season opener at Brands Hatch in Kent.

Reigning champion Andrew Jordan returns to defend the crown he so brilliantly won last season for the Pirtek Racing Honda squad. To do that though, he must overcome challenges from the works Hondas of Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden, the flamboyant Jason Plato from MG, BMW’s Colin Turkington and the returning Alain Menu and Fabrizio Giovanardi. All of the above have won the BTCC title, stretching back as far as 1997.

Crème of the crop

It was Brands Hatch that brought down the curtain on the 2013 title battle on a wet and windy October afternoon and Jordan held his nerve and a late crash in one of the races to claim his maiden title.

Having become an elite Red Bull athlete over the winter, Jordan enters this season in confident mood. He was the fastest driver at the BTCC media day recently at Donington Park and knows the package of his car inside out. He starts the season as the slender favourite but it is very hard to do back-to-back titles. Only Neal and Giovanardi have done that in the last 30 years.

Andrew Jordan is defending champion and the man to beat in 2014

Whilst Jordan (car pictured above) knows everything there is to know about his car, the works Dynamics Honda boys of Neal and Shedden have to learn a new car from scratch. The new Honda Civic tourer looks an absolute beauty but is it quick enough for them to launch a challenge? Evidence would suggest they will be right up there as expected, despite some early teething problems in testing. The relationship between the teammates is second to none, despite the odd incident on-track. I won’t forget the collision instigated by Neal on the final corner of a race at Oulton Park in 2011 (video below).

Meanwhile at MG, the Triple Eight racing crew will be aiming to spearhead Plato to a third title. He last took the top honours for Chevrolet in 2010 and is the most successful BTCC driver in history for race victories. Never hiding behind anything and always with plenty to say, the Fifth Gear presenter and BRDC board member loves his racing and apart from two years in the mid-2000s, has been a permanent fixture on the grid since 1997. It is the third season of the Plato/MG relationship and this campaign – they want to win and anything else will be considered as a failure.

By contrast, Turkington’s performances were outstanding last season after three years away from the paddock. He won the title for Team WSR in 2009 driving a BMW, so like Jordan – he knew the team, if not the car last season. He strung together some great weekends though and was almost unbeatable at Croft and Knockhill in 2013. His canny driving style means he will always be there to pick up the pieces and collect the points, even if he isn’t the fastest over a race weekend.

For Menu and Giovanardi, it is a return to familiar stomping grounds. Giovanardi is a touring car legend, having won titles in his homeland of Italy, alongside Spanish, European and British titles. He last graced the BTCC at the opening round in 2010 with two wins from three at Thruxton before a lack of sponsorship saw him sadly disappear. There was never a more exciting driver in his first spell on these shores and he is the big gamble by Dave Bartram and his ailing Motorbase Ford Focus squad, who had a winless and fairly lamentable 2013. Menu will be driving a Volkswagen this season. His last full campaign was the final year Super Touring was around, when he clinched the 2000 title in the unstoppable Ford Mondeo. The Swiss was one of the most consistent drivers in his first touring car career. Only once (1999) did he finish outside the top three of the standings at the end of a season between 1994-2000. For these two, race wins will be ideal but anything else has to be considered as a bonus.

Others to watch

It isn’t just the seven champions to lookout for though. Still buzzing from his maiden win at Rockingham in September, Rob Austin will be a threat in his Audi car, now with new sponsorship. Young gun Adam Morgan has taken Austin’s former sponsorship, WIX Racing and now has a Mercedes-Benz to play with. Morgan was one of the biggest surprises last season, cutting out his wild errors of his debut 2012 year with a more mature approach in 2013 that earned many plaudits.

A late deal has got multiple race winner Mat Jackson back onto the grid with Motorbase. He had a very difficult 2013 with some fairly anonymous weekends. However he has figured in championship fights in the past and is an excellent benchmark for the returning Giovanardi. Turkington will be supported by another experienced campaigner in Rob Collard. Always one for a good scrap, Rob never gives up and will be hoping for more luck to come his way this time around.

Another youngster to watch out for is Sam Tordoff, who will once again be backing Plato up at MG. Tordoff won his first touring car race at Snetterton last summer and handled the occasion of being paired with Plato very well. His progress will be one of the season’s interesting side stories. Then there is Dubliner Aron Smith with Menu at Volkswagen, looking for a new breath of fresh air after being deemed surplus to requirements at Motorbase, whilst rookies Marc Hynes and Tom Ingram are bound to show flashes of potential as will another former race winner in Dave Newsham, now in an AMD Ford Focus.

Commitments

With new deals with Dunlop and ITV, plus a one-class formula with all 31 cars using the NGTC car requirement, the BTCC is firmly in a good place.

There are 10 race meetings across the country from Silverstone in Northamptonshire and Snetterton in Norfolk to Oulton Park in Cheshire and Thruxton in Hampshire – the fastest circuit in Great Britain.

It all starts on Sunday with three events and with 13 race winners on the grid, there is bound to be plenty of commitment down the field. BTCC 2014 could be a special season. It certainly has all the ingredients to deliver.

Categories: 2014, Andrew Jordan, Brands Hatch, BTCC, Dunlop, Gordon Shedden, Honda, ITV, Jason Plato, Matt Neal, Touring Cars

Dancing on Ice - Thank you and farewell

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Some programmes on television go far too soon before they become the hits they should be, whilst others stay on the air despite being completely out of date. One show that has reached its natural conclusion is the ITV skating show Dancing on Ice.

Presented by the silver fox Phillip Schofield and Christine Bleakley, the programme is currently in its ninth and final series which is a celebration of the previous eight years where a hosts of previous champions, runners-up and entertainers come back to make friends with the ice again in a bid to become the champion of champions. The show – not expected to be a hit when it first appeared in our winter schedules in January 2006 has become anything but a failure. However, the executives at the leading terrestrial commercial channel have made the right call in not deciding to continue with another series after 2014.

It is farewell to Dancing on Ice after nine series in March

This piece will look at some of the best moments of Dancing on Ice (logo pictured above), the top partnerships and routines, the blubbering moment where Todd Carty became an internet sensation and some of those acid tongue insults from Mr Nasty, Jason Gardiner.

Skating with Celebrities

To start with, the programme was titled as 'Skating with Celebrities' and ITV approached former Olympic champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean to help perform new routines and coach/mentor celebrities to perform on the ice. At first, the skating duo who had captured our hearts with the epic ‘Bolero’ routine that won gold in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo said no but after a change of title to Dancing on Ice and more thought, agreed to give this a go.

10 celebrities competed in series one, ranging from soap actors and actresses, to musicians, sports stars, journalists, models and Olympians. As the years have progressed, more competitors start on the journey with as many as 14 per series in recent years. All the celebrities are paired with professional skaters who have become almost as recognisable as the actual celebrities we watch with anticipation. However, only Matt Evers and Daniel Whiston have competed with an amateur to start with in every single series of the programme.

Dancing on Ice became an instant early hit, which was a surprise to the producers as Britain’s love of ice dancing was rekindled. 11.6m watched the grand finale to the first series, won by actress Gaynor Faye. The peak of the show came in the third series (2008) when the programme was moved to a Sunday night from its original Saturday evening slot. Ratings reached a peak of 14m during final evening when the former Hearsay singer Suzanne Shaw pulled off two amazing performances to land the first coveted maximum scores of 30.0 (five 6.0s) in the history of Dancing of Ice.

Panel Wars

The basics of the show haven’t changed but one thing that has often been reformed is the Ice Panel (pictured below) and they are a competitive lot of people who want their say and give natural and constructive criticism to the skating couples. Only former Olympic champion and head judge Robin Cousins has remained as a judge throughout every single series as different quotas have joined him on the panel. It started with five judges, which shrunk to three for series six before rising back to four in 2013. Other regulars have included Nicky Slater, Karen Barber (who also coaches the celebrities) and ex-Spice Girl Emma Bunton. Karen Kresge, Ashley Roberts, Ruthie Henshall and Natalia Bestemianova have also had at least one series on the panel.

The current Ice Panel: Robin Cousins, Karen Barber, Ashleigh Roberts and Jason Gardiner

The majority of the panel’s comments are justified. They will praise the good parts of a performance and give feedback on the weaker elements of a routine. Sometimes this can lead to serious disagreements between the Ice Panel themselves. Then you have Jason Gardiner in the mix. His comments have often been insulting, vile and distasteful towards the elements of competition but also fun with the programme. While some of his jibes have been fair enough, such as calling Gary Lucy ‘boring’ in series five because he was others were well wide of the mark.

He called Dame Kelly Homes a “man in drag!” in series one, said Kay Burley’s “smile makes you look demented!” in series two, told Tana Ramsey in series five that she had “the sensuality of a frigid schoolmistress” and accused former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies of “not looking human” in the same series. There isn’t any place for Gardiner to start character assassinating the celebrities for something they are trying to learn but I guess it is part of the entertainment value of the programme’s identity.

One of the funniest dialogues was in series three with tennis pro Greg Rusedski. After another lame performance from the 1997 US Open finalist, Gardiner said: “You know Greg; you have the charisma of cardboard! You are as dull as dishwater mate!” In typical Rusedski fashion, he responded back by saying “I’ll make the final and we’ll see.” Gardiner then said “if he would make the final, he wouldn’t be there!” It was a dialogue classic but Greg crashed out in the series three quarter-finals so ultimately it was all for nothing.

Injuries and snazzy costumes

Dancing on Ice has had its thrills but also its spills. Andi Peters fell over during the introduction to a show in series one, then got up in typical fashion and said “that’s Andi!” He was quickly sent packing by the public. David Seaman dropped his professional partner Pam O’Connor twice in 2006 and there have been other numerous injuries which have led for many celebrities and even pros needing medical treatment. The most serious was a broken ankle for entertainment reporter Michael Underwood which ruled him out of the 2008 series in the third week of the competition. Although the fear remained, Michael returned a year later to do the competition properly and was voted out in week four in a skate-off when he and his pro partner Melanie Lambert were beaten by Melinda Messenger and Fred Palascak, who is married in real life to Lambert.

Unlike Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing on Ice hasn’t seen many real-life romances formed although close bonds have been formed between celebrity and professional. However two of the celebs returning in 2013 are skating with their real-life partners. Series six winner Sam Attwater is skating with fiancée Vicky Ogden and Seaman got together with Frankie Poultney during the 2009 UK tour. They are also getting married later this year.

One other thing that has made DOI standout is some of the snazzy costumes that have been worn. Men in tight costumes, women in revealing outfits, it all adds to the appeal of the show. Main costumes designer Stephen Adnitt has managed to create over 1000 costumes during the nine series and millions of sequins have been used per year. His job is imperative to the success of the show.

The sublime to the ridiculous

There have been some incredible partnerships in the history of the show. Kyran Bracken and Melanie Lambert in series two, Ray Quinn and Maria Filippov in series four but top of the pile in my view was the pairing of Hayley Tamaddon and Daniel Whiston for the 2010 series.

Best friends for the best part of two decades, Tamaddon, who recently joined the cast of Coronation Street was the runaway favourite of series five. Together with Whiston, they put in my favourite ever routine, which can be seen below. They danced to ‘Jai-Ho’ from the Bollywood movie sensation ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and produced a flawless performance that wouldn’t be out of place in a professional competition.

That was sublime but the most ridiculous contestant and perhaps the funniest is Todd Carty. Best known for his roles as ‘Tucker’ in Grange Hill and Mark Fowler in EastEnders, Carty turned up for series four and he simply couldn’t skate or even perform. On week three, he made a spectacular exit from the ice arena when his toe pick got caught in the ice, taking out the cameraman and two other professional skaters. While partner Susie Lipanova continued with the routine, Carty was pushed onto his feet, came back onto the ice in time with the end of the music and then gave a rather pathetic plea to the public to keep in safe from the dreaded skate-off. It led to him becoming an internet phenomenon and DOI commentator, the late Tony Gubba struggling to keep his laughter in check.

Carty has returned for the final series and lord only knows what will happen five years on.

The final curtain

From the surprise rise of Donal McIntyre in series four, to Heather Mills becoming the first amputee to compete on the show a year later, Dancing on Ice has been on an incredible journey with the public. However it has reached its final curtain.

Series nine started a fortnight ago with 14 previous heroes from the show’s past coming back to perform in the all-stars edition. Four celebrities have already skated for the last time as Joe Pasquale, the recently departed Hollyoaks actress Jorgie Porter, Lucy and Seaman have exited the competition.

10 stars remain with the prize of being the all-star champion up for grabs. For Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, it will close the chapter on a sensational career which has seen them still gracing the ice 30 years after the first sight of ‘Bolero’ in Sarajevo. Unless it is a serial drama or you are Simon Cowell who can make something last forever, all programmes reach their natural conclusion and with format changes, lower ratings and lack of starring celebrities, the time has come for Dancing on Ice to be retired.

Hopefully the final series will go out with a bang and not a whimper. It is thank you for all the memories it has created since 2006 and in around eight weeks’ time, farewell.

CELEBRITIES WHO HAVE COMPETED IN DANCING ON ICE:

Series 1: Dame Kelly Holmes, John Barrowman, Bonnie Langford, Stefan Booth, Gaynor Faye, David Seaman, Andrea McLean, Sean Wilson, Andi Peters, Tamara Beckwith

Series 2: Kyran Bracken, Clare Buckfield, Lee Sharpe, Lisa Scott-Lee, Duncan James, Ulrika Jonsson, Stephen Gately, Emily Symons, Phil Gayle, Kay Burley, Neil Fox

Series 3: Chris Fountain, Suzanne Shaw, Gareth Gates, Zaarah Abrahams, Steve Backley, Natalie Pinkham, Michael Underwood, Linda Lusardi, Greg Rusedski, Samantha Mumba, Tim Vincent, Aggie MacKenzie, Sarah Greene

Series 4: Ray Quinn, Jessica Taylor, Donal MacIntyre, Zoe Salmon, Michael Underwood, Coleen Nolan, Todd Carty, Melinda Messenger, Ellery Hanley, Roxanne Pallett, Graeme Le Saux, Gemma Bissix, Jeremy Edwards  

Series 5: Hayley Tamaddon, Mikey Graham, Danniella Westbrook, Kieron Richardson, Heather Mills, Gary Lucy, Emily Atack, Danny Young, Sinitta, Dr. Hilary Jones, Sharron Davies, Jeremy Sheffield, Tana Ramsay, Bobby Davro

Series 6: Sam Attwater, Laura Hamilton, Jeff Brazier, Chloe Madeley, Johnson Beharry, Jennifer Metcalfe, Vanilla Ice, Denise Welch, Comedy Dave, Kerry Katona, Dominic Cork, Elen Rivas, Steven Arnold, Angela Rippon, Craig McLachlan, Nadia Sawalha

Series 7: Matthew Wolfenden, Jorgie Porter, Sebastien Foucan, Jennifer Ellison, Chico, Heidi Range, Chemmy Alcott, Andy Whyment, Sam Nixon, Charlene Tilton, Mark Rhodes, Rosemary Conley, Corey Feldman, Laila Morse, Andy Akinwolere

Series 8: Beth Tweddle, Luke Campbell, Samia Ghadie, Matt Lapinskas, Anthea Turner, Gareth Thomas, Oona King, Joe Pasquale, Lauren Goodger, Keith Chegwin, Shayne Ward, Pamela Anderson   

Categories: Bolero, Christopher Dean, Dancing On Ice, Hayley Tamaddon, ITV, Jason Gardiner, Jayne Torvill, Robin Cousins, Skating, Todd Carty

Christmas adverts of today...and the past

By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

It is the time of year where the festive season is around the corner and it is time to be jolly. No-one likes a Grinch at this time of year. It is also this period where the shops go into overdrive as they launch huge campaigns to get us to shop on the high street or online and to grab our money for the presents you want to buy for your loved ones.

This involves advertising and it means that on almost every single commercial break on primetime TV, you will see a Christmas advert. They range from the stupid and ridiculous to the simple classics that always entertain us every year.

Having seen the majority of the big boys launch their commercial campaign already, I’ve come to the conclusion that the average Xmas advert in 2013 is disappointing.

Retail giant John Lewis has set the standard in recent years with powerful and heartfelt adverts that capture the attention of the viewers and more importantly, the shoppers.

However their 2013 advert (caption pictured), premiered last Saturday during the X-Factor on ITV falls well short of expectations. Had it not been for the big build-up, you would struggle to guess what it is actually advertising. Having cost a reported £7m to make, I have to consider it as a total waste of money. While it does show the love and caring side towards Christmas (advert below), it hints that the brains behind the campaign were struggling for ideas to promote the brand this year. The only advantage they have is the use of a decent soundtrack. Personally, I think Lily Allen’s cover of the Keane song ‘Somewhere Only We Know,’ is lame and dreadful but it is selling copies and being downloaded heavily. It is more than likely that Allen will have a number one to her name come Sunday night but it will her most fortunate success to date.

On Wednesday night during Coronation Street, supermarket chain Sainsbury’s launched their Christmas campaign which shows normal families enjoying the build-up and the actual day of joy and company. The campaign of home videos is for an upcoming documentary film called ‘Christmas in a Day,’ directed by an Oscar winner in Kevin Macdonald. The advert in terms of content is of good quality and the ending is quite joyous as two youngsters experience the thrill and delight of their father having returned home from combat in Afghanistan to be with family on Christmas Day. Unfortunately, the advert is too long at three and a half minutes and it won’t be remembered for that. At the two minute mark (advert below), there is a gentleman in his kitchen talking into the camera but eagle eye viewers spotted three food items from one of Sainsbury’s rivals in the Co-Op!

A Co-Operative spokeswoman said on Thursday: “It seems that our Truly Irresistible Christmas pudding, lemon torte and Christmas cake are so good, even Sainsbury’s can’t resist advertising them!”

It is an embarrassing faux-pas for Sainsbury’s, as they struggle to compete with the tried and trusted Tesco’s, a Morrison’s campaign with TV favourites Ant & Dec and ASDA, recently voted best supermarket for low prices for the 16^th successive year. Even ALDI have made their moves into the industry with joyous promotional material (2012 advert example below).

Other commercials for the likes of Littlewoods, Marks & Spencer, Very.co.uk and TK Max pass by without hardly a comment, let alone a big fuss. My personal favourite this year actually comes from Sky. The advert shows a teenager with headphones almost glued to her ears looking pretty downcast at this joyous time of year. Her younger brother seems upset, so leaves a gift in her doorway and the generous idea works as she comes down with her family to watch some good Christmas TV on Sky Movies (advert below). It might seem simple and basic but it is an excellent effort from Sky, who have been rivalled by the likes of Virgin Media and more recently, BT in the past 12 months.

Christmas from the past

The Christmas advert has been on our TV screens for many years and there have been some real crackers down the past three decades. Here are some of my favourites, including ones from Woolworths, John Lewis, Boots and of course, the Coca Cola Christmas trucks.

I believe though that none of 2013’s adverts will be remembered fondly in the years to come.

Categories: 2013, Adverts, Christmas, ITV, John Lewis, Lily Allen, Oscars, Sainsbury's, Sky, TV

ITV - Better or worse for not having regional identity?

It might have made huge pre-tax profits recently, but back in January of this year, the largest commercial network for Freeview subscribers, ITV decided to have a change of rebrand.

The new ITV logo has received a mixed response

The logo (pictured) was given a makeover, as were the idents into our favourite shows.  There was also a relaunch of the news systems – both of regional outputs and the national picture.

It is around six weeks since the change and it is difficult to see ITV in the position it currently is.  Some of the idents make no sense whatsoever, and if you see your favourite ITV programme – whether that be The Chase, Dancing on Ice, This Morning or Coronation Street – the credits are now in black!  Not all programmes have to have this background, and I for one find it slightly off-putting.

A change was needed, as it had been six years since the last makeover but in my opinion, it is a change for the worst.

It all started to go wrong for ITV in 1991.  The 1990 Broadcasting Act is often overlooked by other key statues that have passed law, such as the Human Rights Act and the Data Protection Act – but it made the corporation into one main channel.

The ITV regions are largely no more, a real shame and a concept I wish we still had on today’s screens.

The aims of the act

The aims of the act were to reform British broadcasting.  It had just been a year after Sky Television had opened up the choice of viewer to the consumer.

Changes included the abolition of the IBA (Independent Broadcasting Authority), the creation of a fifth British terrestrial television channel (Channel 5 in 1997), and the BBC being forced to have 25 per cent of their programming being produced by other companies rather than through their in-house production content.

It also saw the changes in the ITV regional franchises.  Previously, franchises ran for 10-20 years in each ITV region across the UK.  Changes were not frequently made, and when they were, it was on the basis of the quality of programme content.

The ITC made some controversial decisions

Margaret Thatcher, who was prime minister at the time, wanted these new franchises to go solely on the amount of the highest bidder in a 'blind auction.'  After some resistance from senior cabinet members, it was decided that the quality of programme threshold would be included in the ITC’s (Independent Television Commission's) final decision.

This confused many of the regions when it came to auctioning for the rights.  Some put in high bids, others much lower bids knowing they weren’t to be challenged, or felt the programming quality was going to be the ultimate final decision.

The license award

For example, Central Television put in a bid of just £2,000 to keep the popular Midlands region, whilst Scottish Television (knowing they were unopposed), put in a similar bid to guarantee themselves the license north of the border.

In October 1991, the ITC announced which ITV regions would have the commercial licenses to begin on 1 January 1993.

12 of the 16 ITV networks at the time, including Granada, Yorkshire, Anglia and LWT kept their licenses.  Some were challenged, others weren’t.  However, four networks weren’t so lucky.

The biggest loser was Thames Television, who serviced London on weekdays.  They were outbid by CPV-TV (led by Richard Branson) and Carlton Television.  As Carlton were the highest bidder, and Branson’s organisation were disqualified on quality grounds – Carlton got the license.

Thames had it since the late 1960s, and had been the brainchild of quality drama at the time such as The Bill and Minder.  Over 1,000 jobs went as a result of this decision.  Although Thames remained as an independent production company – the ITC’s decision to hand Carlton the license was a total disaster.  In my opinion, it spelt the death of ITV as a regional output.

Gone was the classic Thames jingle, and in came random faces from around London just saying ‘You are watching Carlton’ with some music that to be honest, a baby could do better with! 

800 people lost their jobs at TVS, who had been the holder of the South and South East license for 10 years.  Their bid of £59.8m was deemed too high, as the business plan was deemed not to be suitable.  The smaller Meridian network came in here.  However, it had greater success than TVS, and is probably the only change most agreed with.

That didn’t help the people employed at TVS.  The company was eventually sold to International Family Entertainment a year later.  An independent production company now owns the logo and the abbreviation. 

Like TVS, TSW lost its franchise due to poor business planning.  The South West franchise of Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall went to Westcountry Television, despite them bidding £9m less. 

It didn’t make much difference to the area.  Westcountry’s idents were more catchy and colourful, but the programming quality was limited at best.  As for TSW, they entered a reverse takeover and ultimately entered receivership.

The offices of TV-AM became rather empty after their demise

Breakfast television also got a major change.  TV-AM, who had served the network well in its 10-year existence despite a famous unions strike and early teething problems – lost the national breakfast franchise to Sunrise Television.

The Sunrise Television consortium bid £20m more and got the license on being the highest bidder, leaving TV-AM staff mortified.  The late presenter Mike Morris said he was ‘gutted,’ while owner Bruce Gyngell launched a vicious attack on Sunrise’s business plan.

He said: “I do not believe that Sunrise will have a profitable business plan.  In fact, I predict Sunrise will go bankrupt in 1994.  It is an extraordinary decision.”

Sunrise Television would eventually change its name to GMTV after a dispute with Sky over the use of the Sunrise name.

Whilst GMTV actually went on to do a decent job, many loyal TV-AM audience members were lost because of this decision, and frankly – commercial breakfast television hasn’t been the same since they disappeared from our screens.

Mergers start to emerge

The 1990 Broadcasting Act also relaxed the effect of mergers, and two major players started to come together and totally destroy the ITV regional network.  To Granada and Carlton, all I have to say is congratulations.

The writing was on the wall in 1994 when Carlton took over Central, having been a long-time investor.  Meanwhile Granada became the new owners of LWT.  With the two most popular regional networks bought out by two robotic machines, the domino pattern had been set.

Meridan bought Anglia in the same year, consequently moving the Anglia presentation to Southampton.  This was a strange move considering Anglia outputted areas such as Cambridge, Northampton, Norwich, Luton and Milton Keynes – none of them anywhere near Meridan headquarters. 

Two years later, Carlton killed off Westcountry Television by buying them out and increased their growing stake in Central.  In 1997, Granada’s response was to acquire the Yorkshire-Tyne Tees element.  Although we still had regional news bulletins and regional idents – ITV was swiftly becoming a one network system – and this was killing off its earlier unique identity. 

By 1999, only three ITV regions were now independent, with Granada and Carlton, together with Scottish and United News and Media (owners of Anglia, HTV and Meridan), owning the rest between them.  A new corporate look was identified and launched in 1999 and with it, we waved bye-bye to regional identity.

Three years later, all regions disappeared as ITV became a single network.  The 1990 Broadcasting Act had done its job, and lost channel number three it’s regional identity.

Settling down

Downton Abbey is arguably ITV's biggest hit nowadays

Nowadays, ITV is still home to many top programmes.  The worldwide success of Downton Abbey and emergence of Mr. Selfridge in recent weeks has won critical acclaim. 

The Only Way Is Essex is somehow winning over a large audience following from youngsters, whilst Coronation Street and Emmerdale still attract massive figures.

ITV is also the home for live terrestrial football, and do a solid if unspectacular job of giving the footy lover live FA Cup, UEFA Champions League and England internationals for free.

And there are other mainstay programmes still going strong such as This Morning, but others haven’t been so lucky.

The Bill faded and faced demise, classic entertainment like Catchphrase, Gladiators, You Bet, Blind Date and Stars in Their Eyes were ditched for much of the reality content we have on today.

News at Ten has been fluctuating in the on/off position for the past two decades.  The way ITV have fiddled around with its news content is baffling at best, considering the BBC has only made one main change (moving the late news to 10 o’clock from 9) in the past 30 years.

Athletics, Formula One and Boxing were eliminated, meaning ITV Sport should be renamed ITV Football (oh wait, they tried that and nearly left the Football League in financial ruin).

And other programmes went without a fight.  Home & Away was passed off to Channel Five without any consideration, Who Wants to Be A Millionaire got so predictable that it has sadly been forgotten about far too easily, and there is no place at all for other cracking shows in the mid-80s/90s like World of Sport, Through the Keyhole, Blockbusters, Crossroads, Peak Practice, Spitting Image, Bullseye, The Krypton Factor, Heartbeat and World in Action.

Is ITV in a stronger place than it was back in the 1990s?  That is open to debate.  I don’t think it is to be honest.  Advertising revenues are down and I reckon it has lost its unique identity.

Some of the changes in the 1990 Broadcasting Act were made for the better of British television, but the demise of the ITV regions is something that is missed.

I will finish with a reminder of some of those cracking regional idents from TV’s real heyday of the 1990s.

Categories: 1990, Broadcasting Act, Freeview, ITV, January, Margaret Thatcher, Midlands, The Chase, TV-AM