TV couple bid farewell to Channel 4

5:56am Friday 22nd August 2008

Friday marks the end of an era for daytime TV as golden couple Richard and Judy broadcast their final terrestrial show.

After seven years on Channel 4 Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan are moving their popular chat show to digital channel UKTV.

They will bid farewell to their current home with a special edition featuring a look back over the series with contributions from regular guests Vanessa Feltz, Amanda Platell and Nick Ferrari.

The husband and wife couple were poached by Channel 4 from ITV's This Morning in 2001 - 26 years after they first started working together on Granada TV.

It was the stint with This Morning in 1988 that made them into household names. Their views on the daily two hours of celebrity chit-chat, phone-ins and cooking demonstrations saw them grow into a national phenomenon.

They will now host a new 60-minute primetime show on UKTV which will retain the book and wine clubs that proved successful on their Channel 4 programme.

Finnigan, 60, said public opinion convinced her and Madeley, 52, to carry on their TV career together.

She told UKTV: "When we announced our decision to leave our current television series after seven years, we were very touched by the number of people - friends, family, guests, viewers and broadcasters - who told us how much they wanted to see us continuing making programmes together."

The couple, however, may be remembered more for their embarrassing moments than for their presenting skills.

Madeley's Ali G impression on This Morning, Finnigan's dress coming adrift at the 2000 National Television Awards awards ceremony and the record £15,000 fine the show incurred over phone-ins have all been the subject of media speculation over recent years.

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