Midday (Australian TV program)

Last updated

Midday
Also known asThe Midday Show with Ray Martin (1985–1986)
Midday with Ray Martin (1986–1992)
Ray Martin at Midday (1993)
Midday with Derryn Hinch (1994)
Midday with Kerri-Anne (1996–1998)
GenreVariety
Presented by Ray Martin (1985–1993)
Derryn Hinch (1994)
Tracy Grimshaw and David Reyne (1995)
Kerri-Anne Kennerley (1996–1998)
Narrated by Ken Sparkes
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons14
Production
Production locationsSydney, New South Wales
Running time90 minutes
Release
Original network Nine Network
Original release11 February 1985 (1985-02-11) 
27 November 1998 (1998-11-27)
Related

Midday (commonly referred to as The Midday Show) is an Australian award-winning daytime television program, based on the variety format that aired on the Nine Network on 11 February 1985 until 27 November 1998. [1] The show aired, like its title suggests, at noon, on a weekday schedule, and was a 90-minute variety programme with international and local guests. [1] It featured interviews, musical performances and comedy spots. The format of the show was similar to that of its predecessor, The Mike Walsh Show , which it replaced in the lunch time slot. [1]

Contents

Program history / hosts

Ray Martin (1985–1993)

Leading Mike Walsh's resignation from The Mike Walsh Show , Ray Martin was appointed as his successor in 1985, despite being known primarily as a journalist from 60 Minutes . [2] The program was re-titled to The Midday Show with Ray Martin, which was later shortened to Midday with Ray Martin, and finally Ray Martin at Midday in 1993. Although Martin was seen as a shock choice at the time of his appointment, he soon became increasingly popular with viewers. [3]

During his time on the show, a highly publicised on-air scuffle took place in 1991 between former pop idol Normie Rowe and radio personality Ron Casey. [4]

While Martin was at the helm, members of the Midday on-camera team included musical director Geoff Harvey; comedians Graham Pugh, Ross Daniels, Ewan Campbell; trumpeter Bob Bouffler; and pre Big Brother presenter Gretel Killeen. Ray Martin remained as host until late 1993, when he was moved to replace Mike Willesee as host of A Current Affair , which had seen a ratings decline over the previous year. [5]

Martin ended up being a popular host on the show. He won the Gold Logie for his role 3 times – in 1987, 1993 and 1994. He was nominated for the award in 1986, 1990, 1991 and 1992. Jean Stafford was a regular on Midday with Ray Martin from 1986 to 1993 with over 47 performances.

Derryn Hinch (1994)

Following Martin's departure to A Current Affair , Derryn Hinch was appointed as host shortly after being sacked from his self-titled current affairs program on the Ten Network. [6] The show effectively reverted partially to its old title by becoming Midday With Derryn Hinch. [7] Hinch's appointment was seen by many as a shock decision, as he had previously been known as a hard-hitting, outspoken personality. [8] Many were therefore surprised to see him showing a softer side in his role as Midday host. Gradually-declining ratings over previous years saw the show axed at the end of 1994 (Derryn had offered to resign for the good of the show, but stated in interviews that Nine Network executives made it clear that it was the show that was being axed rather than the host). [9]

Tracy Grimshaw and David Reyne (1995)

Following the announcement of the program's axing at the end of 1994, it had been stated that the show would be replaced by a new talk program. After a six-month absence, a lower-budget hour-long program using the Midday title began. [10] [11] [12] In its new form, the show had a more generic feel to it, with no live band and none of the loose "variety show" feeling of the program in its previous incarnation. After the network had considered a number of personalities for the hosting job including Larry Emdur, Richard Wilkins and Monte Dwyer, it was announced that Tracy Grimshaw and David Reyne were to be the co-hosts of this version. [13] However, only six months later the program was again reformatted, effectively making it more reminiscent of the Mike Walsh/Ray Martin eras.

Kerri-Anne Kennerley (1996–1998)

In 1996, Kerri-Anne Kennerley was appointed to the new incarnation of the show, with the title becoming Midday with Kerri-Anne. [14] Geoff Harvey re-joined the show from a period of semi-retirement, albeit with a streamlined, six-piece band and not the full orchestra the show had had in previous days. [15] Initially, Kerri-Anne caused a resurgence in ratings, with her enthusiasm and her tendency to physically interact with guests (i.e. doing dance steps with dancers, attempting to play the respective sports of sporting personalities) rather than confining herself to sit-down interviews. [15] She gained three consecutive Gold Logie nominations for her work on the show, and was widely praised for "bringing the magic back to Midday". [15] However, the show was eventually not able to compete with better rating, imported programs on other networks, and the general decline of locally produced daytime talk shows and budget concerns that prompted the 1994 axing caused the show to again be axed at the end of 1998. [15]

The final Midday program aired on 27 November 1998, running for a length of 150 minutes and featuring an array of guests including Maggie Tabberer, Brian Bury, Doug Mulray, Derryn Hinch, Don Lane, Ron Casey, Barry Crocker and Dame Edna. [1]

Guest hosts

The program would occasionally use guest presenters, usually personalities from other Nine Network programs, who would fill in for the regular hosts of the show.

A notable guest host in 1985 was John Howard who filled in for Ray Martin on 30 August 1985. [16] Howard, who was deputy opposition leader at the time, was the network's second choice after initially approaching opposition leader and Liberal Party leader Andrew Peacock who declined the invitation to host the show. [17] Howard is believed to have chosen his own guests which included political journalists Richard Carleton and Laurie Oakes, cricketer Bill O'Reilly and actress Carmen Duncan. [16]

Within a week of Howard hosting Midday, Peacock unsuccessfully attempted to replace Howard as deputy opposition leader with John Moore which led to the 1985 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill which ultimately saw Howard replace Peacock as Liberal Party leader. [18]

Awards

The show and hosts have won several Logie awards, and been nominated for several too.

Gold Logie:

Midday and its predecessor The Mike Walsh Show won a combined total of 24 Logie Awards for the Nine Network. [1]

Post-Midday and legacy

Following the programs demise in November 1998, the following year, Kerri-Anne was appointed to co-host the cooking show What's Cooking , alternating host Geoff Jansz's cooking segments with her interviews which were not related to cooking. This was seen as an awkward change to the show, which was axed at the end of that year, causing Kerri-Anne to leave the network, openly criticising the format that What's Cooking was given. [15] After spending some time in other media and a second stint at Network Ten, Kerri-Anne returned to Nine to host Mornings with Kerri-Anne (later shortened to Kerri-Anne) , a morning talk show with some similarities to Midday, but without a live audience (except on an occasional basis) and with heavy infomercial content. [15] Kerri-Anne was eventually replaced with a new incarnation of Mornings (now Today Extra ) presented by David Campbell and Sonia Kruger in 2012. Kruger later resigned from the program and the network at the end of 2019, with former Today news presenter Sylvia Jeffreys announced as her replacement.

Midday and various memorable events associated with the program continue to be regularly recalled in the Australian media, including an incident when an entertainer appeared to juggle chainsaws and live kittens which prompted complaints. [19]

Another Midday incident often referred to occurred in 1996 when host Kerri-Anne Kennerley, following a serious political discussion, coaxed Federal Treasurer Peter Costello into learning the Macarena . [20] [21]

In 2020, media personality Lisa Wilkinson recalled a tense exchange she had with Nine boss Kerry Packer after being a guest on Midday in her capacity as the editor of Cleo , also owned by Packer. [22] During her appearance on Midday, Wilkinson had revealed she had decided to discontinue the nude centrefold but had done so without consulting Packer which prompted him to immediately phone her to discuss the matter. [22]

In 2019, there were unsubstantiated reports the Seven Network was considering relaunching their own version of Midday. [23] Also that same year, the Nine Network launched Australia's Top 10 Of Everything, a show featuring a look at all things nostagia including clips of interviews and segments from past and present flagship Nine programs including clips from Midday. Since the programs inception in 2019,it has been rerun numerous times.

Ongoing tension between Midday hosts Derryn Hinch and Kerri-Anne Kennerley has also kept attention on the program. [15] [24] [25]

In 2020, there was reported speculation that the Nine Network was considering relaunching the Midday show in the near future with Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Samantha Armytage touted as potential hosts. [26] [27] Should a revival ever proceed, it is likely that the potential refreshed program would move away from the 80s, 90s variety halcyon days and replicate a format similar to Today Extra with heavy informercial content.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logie Awards</span> Annual Australian television awards

The Logie Awards is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine TV Week. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the TV Week Awards. Awards are presented in twenty categories, representing both public and industry voted prizes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Keller</span> Australian television presenter

Amanda Rose Keller is an Australian television and radio presenter, comedian, writer, actress, journalist and media personality, best known as the hostess of the popular Australian lifestyle program The Living Room. Keller also co-hosts Jonesy & Amanda with Brendan Jones on WSFM 101.7 and Dancing with the Stars with Grant Denyer on Network 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derryn Hinch</span> New Zealand–Australian media personality

Derryn Nigel Hinch is a New Zealand-born media personality, politician, actor, journalist and published author. He is best known for his career in Australia, on Melbourne radio and television. He served as a Senator for Victoria from 2016 to 2019.

Gretel Killeen is an Australian comedian, television presenter, media personality and author. She is known for being the host of Big Brother Australia from its inception in 2001 until the 2007 season. Killeen hosted the 2009 TV Week Logie Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Martin (television presenter)</span> Australian journalist and television presenter

Raymond George Martin AM is an Australian television journalist and entertainment personality. Having won the Gold Logie five times, he is the most awarded star of Australian television, along with Graham Kennedy.

The 36th Annual TV Week Logie Awards was held on Sunday 17 April 1994 at the World Congress Centre in Melbourne, and broadcast on the Nine Network. The ceremony was hosted by Ray Martin and guests included Michael Crawford and Grant Shaud.

The 29th Annual TV Week Logie Awards was held on Friday 3 April 1987 at the Hyatt on Collins in Melbourne, and broadcast on Network Ten. The ceremony was hosted by Don Lane and guests included Lee Majors, Brian Dennehy, Loretta Swit, Harry Hamlin, Laura Johnson, Leeza Gibbons, Dame Edna Everage and Nicole Kidman.

Michael Hayden Walsh is an Australian former radio and television presenter, currently focused on owning and operating live theatres, and theatre production, both locally and in the United Kingdom. Walsh was the first "King of Australian Daytime TV", with his program The Mike Walsh Show, featuring both local and international guests, including Hollywood performers.

New Faces was an Australian talent show that preceded the British show of the same name, produced at GTV-9 Melbourne. The program began in 1963 under the name Kevin Dennis Auditions, sponsored by a new car dealership, Kevin Dennis Motors, which was run by Kevin Dennis, who was also a well-known face on Australian TV from his catchy 'Update' TV Commercials in the 1960s–70s, which were featured during the breaks of the popular show. The program ran on Saturday mornings. The program name soon changed to Kevin Dennis New Faces, and later simply New Faces, becoming a Sunday night primetime show.

Kerri-Anne was an Australian morning television program shown on the Nine Network, hosted by Kerri-Anne Kennerley. It was broadcast on weekdays at 9 am for two hours. The final episode of the series was on 25 November 2011. It was replaced by Today Extra, hosted by Sonia Kruger and David Campbell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natarsha Belling</span> Australian journalist

Natarsha Belling is an Australian journalist and television presenter.

Real Life was an Australian current affairs television program that aired on the Seven Network from 20 January 1992 to 1 December 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Bailey</span> Australian journalist

Tim Bailey is an Australian journalist, radio and television presenter, sports reporter and weather reporter, best known for his more than 30 year association with Network 10.

Sunday Night was an Australian news and current affairs program produced and broadcast by the Seven Network. The program aired on Sunday nights and was hosted by Melissa Doyle. It premiered on Sunday 8 February 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Willesee</span> Australian presenter from 1969 to 2013

Terence Joseph Willesee is an Australian retired journalist and television and radio presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerri-Anne Kennerley</span> Australian television presenter (born 1953)

Kerri-Anne Kennerley is an Australian television and radio presenter, actress and singer. She has more than 50 years in the industry, and is an inductee into the Logie Hall of Fame. Kennerley co-hosted Network 10's breakfast television program Good Morning Australia for 11 years. She then went on to replace Tracy Grimshaw and David Reyne as the host of Midday, making the show Midday with Kerri-Anne. After leaving Midday, she hosted her own breakfast television show on the Nine Network called Kerri-Anne and was more recently a co-host on Network 10's Studio 10. She starred in Pippin at the Sydney Lyric Theatre in 2020 as Pippin's grandmother, Berthe.

What's Cooking? was an Australian cooking television series, that aired on the Nine Network in 1991 until 1999.

<i>Hinch Live</i> Australian TV series or program

Hinch was an Australian television current affairs and commentary program, broadcast on Sky News Australia and hosted by Derryn Hinch. The program initially aired as a twice weekly program on Saturday and Sunday nights, and was originally scheduled to premiere on 31 January 2015, however the launch date was moved back a day to 1 February 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Clark, David; Samuelson, Steve (2006). 50 Years: Celebrating a half-century of Australian television. Random House Australia. pp. 201, 260. ISBN   1-7416-6024-6.
  2. Nelson, Sue (11 February 1985). "From 60 Minutes to 90 minutes live is 'no sweat' for Ray". The Canberra Times . Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  3. Grujoska, Gordana (1 September 1986). "'It's fun and stimulation'". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  4. "Brawl erupts on TV debate". The Canberra Times. 17 July 1991. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  5. "Goodbye to 'Midday', hello to new affair for Martin". The Canberra Times. 25 November 1993. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  6. "It's high noon with Hinch - the new Midday man". The Canberra Times. 2 December 1993. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  7. Leedham, Nicole (7 February 1994). "Hinch for lunch". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  8. Childs, Kevin (4 December 1993). "No talk yet about what new host will bring to Midday". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  9. "Nine dumps Midday: Hinch to stay on for 'specials'". The Canberra Times. 18 November 1994. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  10. "Midday show back". The Canberra Times. 5 July 1995. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  11. Rosenberg, Jen (17 July 1995). "From the ashes to the set". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  12. "TV clock to Midday". The Canberra Times. 18 July 1995. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  13. "Reyne pips rivals for 'Midday' chair". The Canberra Times. 2 June 1995. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  14. "New host for Midday". The Canberra Times. 18 December 1995.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kennerley, Kerri-Anne (2017). A Bold Life. Pan Macmillan Australia. ISBN   9781760550424.
  16. 1 2 John, Howard (30 August 1985). "Midday with Ray Martin". 1. Season 1. Nine. TCN-9.
  17. Atkins, Dennis (9 April 2011). "Party games: Rival within". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  18. Malone, Paul (6 September 1985). "Howard leads the Liberals; Peacock stands down after miscalculating support". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  19. Morri, Mark (31 December 2014). "Noise complaints lead to discovery of cannabis plants in garage at Bondi". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  20. Gibson, Jano (18 April 2007). "Dancing with KAK and Kevin". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  21. Enker, Debi (28 February 2008). "Being Kerri-Anne". The Age . Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  22. 1 2 Bond, Nick (5 August 2020). "Lisa Wilkinson reveals tense confrontation with Kerry Packer". news.com.au . Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  23. Knox, David (9 October 2019). "Seven rebooting midday show?". TV Tonight . Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  24. Knox, David (1 April 2020). "KAK v Hinch: Who hosted Midday better?". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  25. Bucklow, Andrew (1 April 2020). "Kerri-Anne Kennerley blasts Derryn Hinch for calling her a 'cockroach'". news.com.au. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  26. Knox, David (9 October 2019). "Kerri Anne Kennerley's secret plan to switch networks revealed". Now To Love. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  27. Knox, David (9 October 2019). "Sam Armytage and Kerri-Anne Kennerley at war over work!". New Idea. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

Midday at IMDb