I spent a week watching daytime TV - here's my picks on what to watch

The Herald Scotland

a day ago

A presenter bagging another gig is nothing new, but the queen of daytime leaving ITV? This was ravens exiting the tower stuff. It could only have caused more of a stir had Lorraine agreed to a direct swap with Channel 4 News' Krishnan Guru-Murthy (well, he did do Strictly …).
Lorraine made no comment, ditto Channel 4. I suspect it won't be the last time she is matched to a new job between now and ITV shedding 220 staff - half its morning workforce.
Under the new set-up, announced this month, Lorraine and Loose Women will run 30 weeks a year instead of 52, with Good Morning Britain, to be produced by ITN, extending to fill the gaps.
Speaking on The Rest is Entertainment podcast Richard Osman called the changes a watershed moment for British television.
The producer, author and presenter said it was 'another symbol of what's happening to our television and the terrestrial broadcasters having to cut their cloth according to the advertising revenues they're getting. We are at the stage now where we are cutting off healthy limbs in British television, which is a terrifying place to be."
Daytime is no stranger to upheaval, with the first 'big bang' the shift of children's programmes from radio to television. It has been evolution with occasional revolution ever since. Now, after decades of having the field to themselves, the big four, BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4, are competing for viewers with hundreds of new channels and streaming services. And they are doing so with less ad revenue or licence fee cash.
As the schedules have changed, so has the audience. Besides the over 55s, who still make up the majority of viewers, there are shift workers and people working from home, students, parents with young children, or anyone out and about with time to fill. Where there's a screen there's a potential daytime viewer. And if that viewer wants to watch daytime shows at nighttime instead, catch-up services will oblige.
The audience numbers might be down for daytime but they remain impressive. 'Very little on British TV these days gets a million, even in the evening,' said Osman. 'BBC Breakfast gets over a million, we then dip under a million for Homes Under the Hammer, then rise to over a million for Bargain Hunt. The news gets one million then you dip down again till Pointless starts then you're back over a million. On BBC2/Channel 4 nothing's getting a million.' ITV, meanwhile, can pull in 600,000-700,000 viewers consistently up to the lunchtime news.
Daytime television still matters - not least to its loyal audiences - but there are questions to be asked. Are viewers happy with a diet of repeats, reheats, endless quizzes and manufactured outrage? What does daytime television say about us as a country? And for the love of God, will anyone ever buy a place in the sun, or are they just time-wasters?
To find out more I spent a week watching daytime television, something I haven't done since bouts of childhood tonsillitis. A lot had changed. For a start, no one brought me ice cream and jelly on demand. But I stuck with the mission to see what was out there, what works, what doesn't, and offer recommendations to readers of The Herald along the way. Hold my housecoat, I'm going in.
Location, chateau, auction
Daytime's obsession with property starts with buying wrecks at auction and ends with second homes in the sun. BBC1's Homes Under the Hammer was the gold standard but it now has competition from Channel 4's Bafta-winning The Great House Giveaway. Simon O'Brien (our Damon from Brookside) matches two strangers struggling to get on the property ladder and gives them a house he's bought at auction. They have six months to do the place up, keeping the profits.
The Never-ending Antiques Roadshow
And what do we do with all those houses we acquire in reality or our imagination? We fill them with treasures/tat from the likes of Bargain Hunt. BH has been going for 25 years and notched up 71 series, making it a daytime legend that shows no signs of flagging. It's the chorus line kick at the end that makes all the difference. They don't do that on snooty old Antiques Roadshow.
Who Doesn't Want to be a Millionaire?
If Rachel Reeves wants to know why the UK economy is in the doldrums, she need only look at the number of people taking part in daytime quiz shows. Where do they all come from, these Countdowners, Lingo players, Impossible and Unbeatable contestants, and crossers of the Bridge of Lies? They can't all be shift workers and students. Quizzes are the sliced white bread of daytime, a staple that's cheap to make in batches and will keep for a long time. What separates the best from the rest is the host, with Anne Robinson's disastrous stint on Countdown the best example of what happens when you get the pick wrong.
Mind How You Go
The world is full of wrong 'uns keen to part us from our hard earned, or it is if you watch daytime. BBC1 has the market cornered with the 1-2-3 of Rip Off Britain, Fraud Squad and Crimewatch Caught. If those don't alarm you enough, stick around till evening to catch ex-daytime hit turned primetime hit Scam Interceptors, made at Pacific Quay in Glasgow.
Lorraine
She's been around a long time, and has a Bafta lifetime achievement award to show for it, but still no one can match her ability to blend serious with fluffy. When accepting her Bafta award from Brian Cox, Kelly made a point of saying there should be more working-class people in television. It can't hurt.
Politics Live
Daytime television has played a big hand in making politics exciting again (that, and the general chaos of the past few years). The visits to the Commons for Prime Minister's Questions, plus extras such as First Minister's Questions at Holyrood and the party conferences, offer lively, informed coverage. MPs and MSPs like the programmes because it gets them on the telly, plus it gives the media at Millbank something to do. Public service broadcasting at its best (and cheap too).
The Way we Were
You can watch an old favourite online at any time, but nothing beats seeing it on television again. Talking Pictures TV should be your first call for classic films and dramas such as Bonanza and The Beverly Hillbillies, while for more recent fare have a wander through the various U& channels - U&Drama/ U&Dave/ U&Yesterday.
Sky Arts
Sky Arts starts at 6am and offers first rate programmes through to the next day. Best of all, it's free to view. This week, for example, you can see films about the Guggenheim in Bilbao, The Yardbirds, performances from the Grand Ole Opry, plus historian Kate Bryan playing tour guide at Tate Brtain. All that and a daily double bill of Tales of the Unexpected. Cue the music …
DIY
Not the hammer and nails stuff, but putting together your own daytime schedule. Maybe you can't bear another Loose Women or afternoon of quizzes. Why not choose a box set and watch an episode a day instead? On BBC iPlayer it's easiest to see what's there if you search under categories, eg drama and soaps. There are two series of the brilliant Northern Ireland police procedural Northern Lights, plus City drama Industry, Life on Mars, and Peaky Blinders - and all free (with a licence fee). On STV Player you can watch the first run of Karen Pirie and catch the new series. Also showing are the dramas Unforgotten and Joan, plus comedies including Parks and Recreation. Channel 4's streaming service is free and includes The West Wing, The Americans, and Hill Street Blues.
The Creme de la Creme
The best of the streaming services. Subscriptions are expensive but look out for special offer trial periods, or 'with ads' options. Now is good value for all things Sky, including The White Lotus and The Wire. I'm currently flipping between Veep and Succession. Apple TV+ has Dennis Lehane's Smoke plus Emmy nominees Severance, The Studio and Slow Horses. On Disney+ I can highly recommend the end of the world as we know it drama Paradise. On Netflix, the word is spreading about Pernille, a Norwegian family drama about a single mother and social worker trying to keep all life's plates spinning (sounds awful but it's lovely), and Prime Video has the peerless Bosch.