Breakfast TV stars Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley appear to be facing the axe from ITV’s Daybreak show amid falling ratings and claims that they are unpopular with viewers.
And the Friday stand-in, Kate Garraway, may also be kicked off the sofa in the radical switch-up.
The Mail on Sunday has been told by a senior television industry source that a meeting took place last week between Peter Fincham, ITV’s director of programmes, and Christine Bleakley.
'Unpopular': Expensive TV hosts Chiles and Bleakley have proved a turn-off for viewersThe star is said to have been informed that she would not be continuing as the host of the programme.
Both Chiles and Bleakley – fiancee of England and Chelsea footballer Frank Lampard – will continue to work for the broadcaster.
Chiles is already the face of ITV’s football coverage and also presents That Sunday Night show.
The pair were poached from the BBC by ITV in a highly publicised tug-of-war less than two years ago.
But despite pocketing £2.8million a year in pay between them, Bleakley and Chiles struggled to attract as many viewers as ITV had hoped when they launched Daybreak in September 2010.
Chiles was criticised for being grumpy, while Bleakley was considered too glamorous compared with Daybreak’s core viewers, who found it difficult to identify with a woman who now sports a £12,000 engagement ring from her footballer fiance.
The falling ratings led to the programme, which is on air between 6am and 8.30am, being dubbed ‘Daybroke’.
Bleakley and Chiles were put on a four-day week after ratings slid to 700,000, which is just half of BBC's Breakfast audience.
Kate Garraway presents the show on Fridays with Dan Lobb but the Sunday Mirror reported that bosses are eying up former Sky News presenter Helen Fospero to replace her.
Helen filled in for Kate last week.
Cringe: ITV bosses are said to feel that the duo are not suited to morning TVThe show's North England correspondent Lucy Watson is also being considered for the position.
A source told the paper: 'There's a big question mark over the whole direction of the show. But these changes could see Kate Garraway pushed to one side.
'The feeling is there will have to be big changes if the show is to survive. Bosses want a newsy edge.'
Asked if Chiles and Bleakley were leaving Daybreak, an ITV spokesman said last night: ‘Our line is Adrian and Christine are the presenters of Daybreak.’
A spokesman for Chiles and Bleakley at Avalon management – the firm that negotiated the pair’s deals with ITV – declined to comment.
Not worried? Christine, who is engaged to footballer Frank Lampard, looked happy last night despite the pending shake-up as they left the Boujis Club in South Kensington
source:dailymail
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