Today with Des and Mel

Last updated

Today with Des and Mel
Des&Mel logo.jpg
Genre Chat show
Presented by Des O'Connor
Melanie Sykes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time60 minutes
Production companies Carlton Television (2002–04)
Granada Productions (2004–06)
ITV Productions (2006)
Original release
Network ITV
Release30 September 2002 (2002-09-30) 
12 May 2006 (2006-05-12)
Related
Live with Regis and Kelly

Today with Des and Mel is a British chat show that aired on ITV from 30 September 2002 to 12 May 2006 and was hosted by Des O'Connor and Melanie Sykes. [1]

Contents

The show featured celebrity guests, phone-in competitions and chat between the hosts. It was loosely based on the format of the popular American television show, Live with Regis and Kelly .

Although the filming pattern varied, for much of the show's run, Monday's, Tuesday's, and Wednesday's programmes were recorded 'as live' very shortly before start of transmission (typically being recorded about half an hour prior), while Thursday's and Friday's episodes were pre-recorded in a separate block on Wednesdays.

The series pulled in extremely high ratings for its daytime slot, and as a result at one stage, the show was given the green light for an evening version to be made. For a brief time in early 2005, the show appeared in a 5pm slot, but this was soon dropped, and a full prime-time version never came about.

Guest presenters

Paul O'Grady was a regular guest presenter, [2] with ITV bosses being so impressed with his performance, that they gave him his own show - The Paul O'Grady Show (the show later moved to Channel 4 from 2006 to 2009 before returning to ITV in 2013). Dale Winton, Bradley Walsh and Richard Whiteley also covered for Des on occasion. Jenny Powell – who contributed a regular Friday feature describing various tasks for the show that she had undertaken that week, which was dropped a while into the show's run – occasionally covered for Mel.

On 3 November 2008 and 8 April 2009, both Des and Mel filled in as guest hosts on The Paul O'Grady Show whilst Paul had time off. O'Grady had requested their use in this capacity as he felt indebted to the pair for playing a role in him being awarded his own show.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Des O'Connor</span> English comedian, singer and television presenter (1932–2020)

Desmond Bernard O'Connor was an English comedian, singer and television presenter.

<i>Blockbusters</i> (British game show) British television game show

Blockbusters is a British television quiz show based upon an American quiz show of the same name. A solo player and a team of two answer trivia questions, clued up with an initial letter of the answer, to complete a path across or down a game board of hexagons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul O'Grady</span> British comedian, actor and television presenter (1955–2023)

Paul James O'Grady was an English comedian and broadcaster, drag queen, actor, and writer. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag persona Lily Savage, through which he gained wider popularity in the 1990s. O'Grady subsequently dropped the character and in the 2000s became the presenter of various television and radio shows, including The Paul O'Grady Show.

Melanie Ann Sykes is an English television and radio presenter. She is best known for co-hosting Today with Des and Mel with Des O'Connor and Let's Do Lunch with Gino D'Acampo. She also co-hosted Going Out with Alan Carr on BBC Radio 2 with Alan Carr from May 2010 until it ended in March 2012, and returned with him for Alan and Mel's Summer Escape from 2017. Sykes currently co-presents Shop Well For Less alongside Joanna Page on BBC One.

Yvette Paula Fielding is an English television presenter, producer, actress, and writer. In 1987 she became the youngest presenter on Blue Peter aged 18. With her husband Karl Beattie, she presented the Most Haunted series on the Living channel, via their own production company, followed by Ghosthunting With..., establishing Fielding as 'first lady of the paranormal'. She has appeared in a wide range of other programmes, from The Wright Stuff to Through the Keyhole and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.

<i>The Paul OGrady Show</i> British comedy chat show

The Paul O'Grady Show is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme is a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances, and occasionally viewer competitions.

Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, known collectively as Mel and Sue, are an English comedy double act. They are known for hosting the BAFTA Award-winning BBC One cookery series The Great British Bake Off. Previously, they hosted the lunchtime chat shows Light Lunch and Late Lunch on Channel 4.

The Chris Moyles Show is the title given to two differing versions of a radio programme hosted by Chris Moyles, originally broadcast as Radio 1 Breakfast from 5 January 2004 to 14 September 2012, before transferring three years later on 21 September 2015 to the Global Radio-owned commercial radio station Radio X. The show is broadcast between 6:30 and 10:00 each weekday.

<i>Richard & Judy</i> British chat show

Richard & Judy was a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 August 2008, but later moved to digital channel Watch from 7 October 2008 to 1 July 2009.

<i>Blind Date</i> (British game show) UK game show

Blind Date is a British dating game show first produced by London Weekend Television. An unscreened pilot was made with comic Duncan Norvelle as presenter but it was eventually hosted by Cilla Black, who already hosted the LWT series Surprise Surprise. Blind Date originally ran on Saturday nights from 30 November 1985 to 31 May 2003 on ITV.

<i>Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two</i> Companion weeknight show on BBC Two

Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two is a British television programme, the companion show to the popular BBC One programme Strictly Come Dancing. First aired on 25 October 2004, it is broadcast from Monday to Friday during the run of the main show on BBC Two at 6:30 pm.

<i>The Alan Titchmarsh Show</i> British TV series or programme

The Alan Titchmarsh Show is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" theme with many of the shows' segments focusing on fashion, health, nature, cookery and animals.

Johnnie Casson is an English comedian who has appeared on numerous occasions on British television, notably on ITV's The Comedians and many guest spots on Des O'Connor Tonight.

Paul O'Grady on the Wireless was the incarnation of the Sunday teatime slot on BBC Radio 2 from 5 April 2009 to 14 August 2022, hosted by Paul O'Grady. It was produced by Malcolm Prince, who also made regular contributions to the programme, and it regularly attracted over two million listeners. It was broadcast on Sundays between 17:00 and 19:00.

Going Out with Alan Carr was the incarnation of the Saturday evening show on BBC Radio 2 between 25 April 2009 and 31 March 2012, produced by Open Mike Productions, which also produced Carr's TV series Chatty Man. It was hosted by British comedian Alan Carr, first with Emma Forbes and then with Melanie Sykes.

<i>Tonight with Craig Doyle</i> Irish TV series or program

Tonight with Craig Doyle is a talk show hosted by Craig Doyle that was broadcast on RTÉ One for one series in 2010. The show featured guest interviews, audience participation and live music. Tonight with Craig Doyle was broadcast every Saturday night during the spring season directly after the main evening news.

<i>The 5 OClock Show</i> British TV series or programme

The 5 O'Clock Show is a daytime television chat show on Channel 4, replacing The Paul O'Grady Show. The format was along the same lines as O'Grady's show and consisted of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts and musical performances. Monday to Wednesday's shows tended to be broadcast live, while Thursday and Friday were recorded on Tuesday and Wednesday. The show was broadcast from Studio 3 of The London Studios. The show was axed by Channel 4 on 7 September 2010.

<i>Lets Do Lunch with Gino & Mel</i> British TV series or programme

Let's Do Lunch with Gino & Mel is a British daytime television programme which aired live on ITV from 2011 until 2014 as part of ITV Food, presented by Gino D'Acampo and Melanie Sykes. D'Acampo cooks various food items, whilst Sykes does the main presenting of the show. The show mixed food with celebrity chat. In each episode, a celebrity guest appeared to assist the hosts and chat to them about their latest projects.

The One and Only... is a British entertainment show, celebrating some of Britain's best loved stars from the world of entertainment. The first show aired on 8 April 2012 and was presented by Des O'Connor. The second aired on 16 October 2013, which was presented by Paul O'Grady, starred the comedian's good friend, Cilla Black.

References

  1. Percival, Ash (15 November 2020). "Melanie Sykes Pays Heartbreaking Tribute To Former Co-Host Des O'Connor: 'It Was An Education And Privilege'". HuffPost UK . Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  2. Simpson, Neil (7 April 2008). Paul O'Grady: The Biography. Kings Road Publishing. p. 210. ISBN   978-1-84358-241-0.