Fame Set And Match

When breakfast television originally came to our screens, few would've predicted that it would form an integral part of the nation's morning routine twenty years later, creating countless stars along the way. However, it hasn't been all plain sailing for some of the personalities involved, and this week's Fame Set And Match takes a close look at the trials and tribulations suffered by five of breakfast TV's biggest names.

The BBC were first to introduce a breakfast programme, and Frank Bough was the obvious choice of host; he had already presented Nationwide and Grandstand, and his friendly and affable manner was popular with viewers. Selina Scott, who had an elegance and calmness of her own, was brought in as co-host, and Breakfast Time was duly launched in January 1983. The programme's laid-back atmosphere quickly became a hit, but TV-am weren't faring nearly as well, so in came the likes of Anne Diamond - who was dating TV-am's producer at the time - and Jeremy Beadle from Game For A Laugh.

Back at Breakfast Time, Selina was not getting on well with Frank, and she considered herself 'above' the programme and its content. This eventually led to her departure from the show in 1986, and she became host of The Clothes Show after the BBC paid her for doing nothing. Meanwhile, Anne Diamond annoyed almost everyone on TV-am, most notably Dennis Healey in an interview, and she courted controversy when she became pregnant, despite not being married; however, by 1987 the whole of TV-am was under threat when the majority of its workforce went on strike, so the station's chief executive Bruce Gyngell sacked them all and took charge of the output himself.

Things were more settled at Breakfast Time, but after Frank Bough left the programme, he confessed to taking cocaine at drug-fuelled vice parties, following an exposé in the News Of The World; he was dropped from the Holiday programme as a result. Meanwhile, TV-am brought Ulrika Jonsson to our screens, and though she wasn't very good at presenting the weather, her bubbly personality won over both the viewers and John Turnbull, whom she married in 1990. Jeremy Beadle had been long gone from TV-am by this time, as he was enjoying massive success with his Beadle's About show at the expense of those he played tricks on.

Events took a tragic turn for Anne Diamond when her four-month old son Sebastian became a victim of cot death, and Anne fronted the 'Back To Sleep' campaign, which dramatically cut the number of cot deaths in the UK. The public sympathy she received improved her image, but the same wasn't true with Selina Scott, who was now interviewing members of the Royals. However, little came out about her private life, so the tabloids assumed she was a closet lesbian. Ulrika Jonsson, meanwhile, landed herself a presenting role on Gladiators after the demise of TV-am, and dated Hunter in the light of her marriage break-up.

As the '90s continued, Jeremy Beadle continued to enjoy success with both Beadle's About and You've Been Framed, and Anne Diamond was reunited with her on-screen partner Nick Owen in Good Morning with Anne and Nick, which didn't convince many viewers and was duly axed because of poor ratings. Frank Bough was being hounded by the tabloids again, however, after he was caught taking part in sadomasochistic orgies at a dungeon, and he was forced to virtually grovel for forgiveness in an interview, while Ulrika's 'ladette' status grew after she became a team captain on Vic and Bob's Shooting Stars.

Jeremy Beadle's time eventually ran out, and after he lost both Beadle's About and You've Both Framed, he was voted as the second most hated man in Britain; most of his appearances nowadays consist of him playing up to that role. Selina Scott's interviews with the rich and powerful came to an end after Donald Trump took exception to his and effectively 'froze her out'; she now narrates Health and Safety videos, while Anne Diamond released a fitness video of her own, but she's at the back of the queue when it comes to TV work. Ultimately though, it's Ulrika's failed relationships with Stan Collymore, Marcus Kempen and a certain Mr Eriksson, which have kept her in the headlines and the public's affections.

It may be easy to dismiss this series as just another example of nostalgia TV, but this programme in particular offers rather more than that, as the stories of the five featured stars (although Beadle is a tenuous inclusion) and the development of breakfast TV itself are particularly interesting purely because of the pitfalls that are featured along the way. Of course, the usual elements of a nostalgia show are present, namely the talking heads (which include Mike Morris, David Icke and Charlie Catchpole - unfortunately) and the classic clips, but also included are some cartoonish depictions and an ultra-cynical narrative, which rather spoil the show somewhat. Fortunately, they don't overshadow what unfolds on screen, which engages enough to make this edition of Fame Set And Match an excellent watch.

Rating: 8/10

Fame Set And Match airs on Saturday 19th October at 9.05pm on BBC Two.