The king and queen of British daytime television reunited on screen to look back over their broadcasting careers.
Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan enjoyed reminiscing at some of their favourite moments and revealed what really went on behind the scenes in a documentary – titled Our Best Bits – In Our Own Words on Channel 5 – which airing at 7pm tonight.
The on-screen double act relived the moment Judy had an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction and accidentally flashed her bra while collecting an award with her husband at the National Television Awards in 2000.
The married couple were left red-faced after Judy’s dress fell down to reveal her nude bra to a watching audience of millions as they took to the stage, which prompted former presenter John Leslie to run onto the stage to help conceal her modesty.
‘I was blissfully unaware, until John Leslie stood up, and we thought ”what is he doing”,’ Richard said. ‘He raced up the steps, I thought ”what is he playing at”, he reached out for Judy and hoisted her dress up.
The king and queen of British daytime television Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan reunited on screen to look back over their broadcasting careers Our Best Bits – In Our Own Words on Channel 5
‘As we had come up [on stage] quite a few people had shouted at me, ”do your Ali G”, I thought that’s what they were saying, and I was like ”no I’m not doing it”. It was nothing to do with that, it was all about your dress but we didn’t know.’
The couple’s son Jack, 38, remembered seeing the incident unfold on TV 24 years ago, he said: ‘I just remember turning around in slow motion towards the telly, and there is mum with her bra out.’ Their daughter Chloe, 36, added: ‘She basically just had her boobs out.’
Judy said: ‘I was wearing a halter neck dress, but because I had a coat over it I didn’t notice and it kind of fell down.’
Before Richard and Judy became so famous they were known only by the first names, they were local news reporters who first met in the Granada Television newsroom in 1982.
The pair spoke about the first time they met at Granada and the initial chemistry between them.
At the time Judy was wedded to journalist David Henshaw and Richard was in the midst of separating from his first wife Lynda.
The on-screen double act relived the moment Judy had an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction and accidentally flashed her bra while collecting an award with her husband at the National Television Awards in 2000
Richard and Judy met in 1982 when they worked on separate programmes for Granada TV. The couple married in 1986
They reunited on screen in 1988 for ITV’s Telethon and their on screen chemistry later led to casting them as the faces of This Morning
Judy said: ‘I remember you coming into the newsroom on your first day, you were wearing a ridiculous sky blue suit… you just looked like a pr**.
‘I was assigned as your minder, they had a system at Grenada that the newbie would be assigned a father or a mother to show them the ropes literally, and I was your mother.’
Reminiscing, Richard said: ‘I suddenly felt two hands on the back of my neck and I heard this voice saying ”I’m your mummy” and I turned around and it was this beautiful blonde. It seemed an off thing to say so I was like ”what??” So yeah she was my assigned mummy.’
Opening up about their first kiss the pair revealed it was after a working day in Blackpool in the back of a black cab.
‘We were filming in Blackpool, we spend a very long day filming promos, we really hit it off. We ended up getting a black cab, because the crew had gone, we went back to Manchester which was a good hours drive.
‘It was in the darkness of the cab that we kind of fell for each other really, and kissed.’
Judy added: ‘It was very gentle, it was the first time that something had shifted between us, and nothing happened for a long time after that only our perceptions of each other changed.’
Richard said when their relationship became known there was a lot of ‘disapproval’ and ‘jealousy’ so the network separated them and no longer allowed them to work as a pair on the news.
They reunited on screen in 1988 for ITV’s Telethon and their on screen chemistry later led to casting them as the faces of This Morning
Richard said when their relationship became known there was a lot of ‘disapproval’ and ‘jealousy’ so the network separated them and no longer allowed them to work as a pair on the news
It came as a huge bombshell when the couple quit ITV after thirteen years, leaving for Channel 4
However they reunited on screen in 1988 for ITV’s Telethon and their on screen chemistry later led to casting them as the faces of This Morning.
It came as a huge bombshell when the couple quit ITV after thirteen years, leaving for Channel 4.
The pair co-wrote their best selling autobiography and launched their popular Book Club.
Then suddenly, everything went quiet. Their programme on UKTV’s new digital channel, Watch, was axed in 2009, yet no offers for a terrestrial TV show appeared.
Richard kept himself busy with his Radio 2 show, Madeley on Sunday, and serving as the main relief presenter on The Wright Stuff and Good Morning Britain.
Yet Judy shied away from the spotlight and after having made just a smattering of TV appearances over the years, in 2018 it was announced that she had retired from show business.
Judy – who divides her time between her homes in London and Cornwall – revealed last year that she doesn’t miss the showbiz circuit.
However they reunited on screen in 1988 for ITV’s Telethon and their on screen chemistry later led to casting them as the faces of This Morning. Judy with Richard as Ali G in 2000
Elsewhere in the documentary, Richard spoke about the biggest regret of his ‘entire career’ was not standing up to TV producers of Tonight, a live late night talk show which they hosted, who wanted to cut an OJ Simpson interview short so they could interview American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond
In another instance, Richard also shaved his face live on air – for a news item on the at-times wacky show
She previously told The Independent: ‘I’ve got absolutely no interest in it at all now. I mean, it was a fabulous career, I loved it. Well, I loved most of it. And it was fascinating. I met some amazing people and it was well-paid.
‘But I did it for 30-odd years and the kind of TV I was doing was full-on, it was live and it completely sucks up your life.
‘As a mother, I just got fed up of it. I wanted my own life instead of one that needed me to be in a studio at seven o’clock in the morning.’
Elsewhere in the documentary, Richard spoke about the biggest regret of his ‘entire career’ was not standing up to TV producers of Tonight, a live late night talk show which they hosted, who wanted to cut an OJ Simpson interview short so they could interview American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond.
He said: ‘It made us look stupid, going to a commercial break and coming back with a singer, it was just mad.
Judy said: ‘ITV insisted that we had to have more than one item on the show.’ Richard added: ‘We wanted to do the full show with OJ, as did our production team, but we got an order from the then boss of ITV that it was too much to give a controversial figure like OJ half an hour of ITV airtime.
‘I have to say, if that happened me today I would say well we are not doing the show because it’s impossible do do OJ Simpson in 12 minutes. It’s ridiculous. we should of refused to do the show.’
Earlier this year, viewers had to do a double take when they tuned into the ITV daytime show This Morning, as Richard Madeley was back on the sofa.
In a role reversal, the broadcaster was a guest rather than a presenter, promoting his forthcoming novel and being interviewed by Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard.
But, opening his segment, Richard was seen sitting next to Cat, 47, while the old theme tune and credits played, giving viewers a blast from the past.
‘Hi, welcome back to your Wednesday’s This Morning with me Richard Madeley and Cat Deeley here,’ he said. ‘A lot more coming up for you on the programme today – how’s your morning been so far?’
After opening the show with Cat, he was interrupted by current host Ben Shephard, who said: ‘Excuse me. Madeley, go on – other side of the sofa’
Madeley now co-hosts breakfast show Good Morning Britain alongside Susanna Reid. Pictured in April
He was then interrupted by current host Ben, who said: ‘Excuse me. Madeley, go on – other side of the sofa.’
‘Don’t spend so long in the loo then,’ Richard joked before moving across to the guest sofa and letting Ben , 49, take his seat.
Reflecting on his years on the show, Richard admitted that some segments including a live Viagra trial and a live grizzly bear wouldn’t be allowed today.
‘He went for me. It was a grizzly bear. We must’ve been mad. So much of what we used to do on This Morning – like the live Viagra test for example – you just wouldn’t do today,’ he said.
‘You’d have Ofcom down your neck. But a live grizzly bear in the studio? Insane.’
In another instance, Richard also shaved his face live on air – for a news item on the at-times wacky show.
He said of the show’s longevity: ‘When we launched it in October ‘88, there was a lot of jealousy [from others] who had pitched for the show and hadn’t got it, and Granada had got it.
‘And so there was a kind of consensus that it would be off air by Christmas, but ITV gave it one year. In 1988 there wasn’t television like it.
‘We went to America and we looked at American daytime shows which have been running for about 20 years. We took a lot of inspiration from them.
‘We piloted it and then we went on air and we were confident that we had a format that would last and look, it’s still going.’
Richard & Judy: Our Best Bits – In Our Own Words – TX: 7pm on Sunday 7th July – Channel 5
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