Information about Richard And Judy

For the Channel 4 programme of the same name that they present, see Richard & Judy.

Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan are married co-stars of British daytime television programmes. Since their marriage, their television appearances have been largely made as a couple, though each has had the occasional solo project. Madeley recently fronted the ITV1 show Fortune - Million Pound Giveaway. Madeley was also the presenter of the unaired pilot of the home video show You've Been Framed.

Biography

Judy Finnigan

Finnigan was born in Manchester, England on 16 May 1948. She attended the Withington Girls' School, an independent school in the city, and later studied English and Drama at Bristol University. She joined Granada Television as a researcher in 1971, and in 1974 moved to Anglia TV in Norwich to become the first female reporter on the About Anglia news team . In 1980 she returned to Granada in Manchester, working on a range of programmes including Flying Start (with Anthony Wilson), Granada Reports and Scramble.

Richard Madeley

Madeley was born in Romford, east London, England on 13 May 1956. He attended the Coopers' Company School in Bow, London, now relocated to Upminster but did not go to university. He began his media career in local newspapers in Essex, before moving to BBC Radio Carlisle at the age of 19 as a news producer and presenter. He soon moved to nearby Border Television as a reporter on the Lookaround local news slot, before fronting its equivalent Calendar with Richard Whiteley on the much bigger Yorkshire TV, and then on to Granada Reports for Granada from the early 1980s. Here he met Judy who, assigned to look after him on his first day, greeted him with the words "Hello, I'm your mummy".

In an interview, Madeley named Cuban leader Fidel Castro as the person he most despises. ^[1]

As a couple

They met in 1982 when they worked on separate programmes for Granada TV. At this time each were in their first marriages. The couple married in 1986. They have two children together - Jack (born 1986) and Chloe (born 1987) - and Finnigan has twin sons - Dan and Tom (born 1978) - from her first marriage.

This Morning

Their most well-known show has undoubtedly been This Morning, which they hosted from its inception until 2001. The series, a mix of celebrity interviews, household tips, cookery and phone-ins lasted approximately two hours each weekday morning on ITV. This live show set the standard for daytime fare in British television throughout the 1990s. It first aired in October 1988 and was broadcast from the Albert Dock in Liverpool, although production moved to London in 1996. They were so closely associated with the show, that most people referred to it by their names, Richard and Judy, rather than This Morning.

Richard & Judy

In 2001, they quit This Morning, having been approached by Channel 4 to host a similar show, simply called Richard & Judy, shown for an hour in the early evenings.

The show is produced by Cactus TV, run by Jonathan Ross's brother and his wife Amanda. In February 2007, the couple publicly apologised live on air due to the discovery of a TV Quiz Phone scam regarding the daily phone in "You Say We Pay." On the same show, Richard and Judy took the decision to suspend the daily quiz until further notice. Later on in that week, articles confirmed that police investigations would be pursued, resulting in the possible police interview. Channel 4 have admitted that the scam may have been in force for two series of the Evening Talk show. Whilst Richard and Judy urged callers to continue entering, it was confirmed that winners were picked in the first ten minutes of the show. The couple both deny being involved in the scam. ^[2]

The TV show has also launched two very successful "clubs", the Richard & Judy Book Club and the Richard & Judy Wine Club. Both of which are similar in style to those used by Oprah Winfrey on her chat show. The Book Club features literature by new and unknown writers. One book will be reviewed each week, and a winner named "Read of the Year" will be announced at an awards ceremony. Their wine club is the number one wine club in the United Kingdom.^[3]

Other work

Whilst working on their daytime show, the pair have had time for other projects. Madeley, for example, presented several series of a TV version of the classic board game Cluedo, TV Game show Connections, the daytime quiz Runway as well as a series on the world's wildest weather, Eye of the Storm. Madeley recently hosted the ITV1 show Fortune - Million Pound Giveaway, and was presenter for the unaired pilot of the home video show You've Been Framed.

Embarrassing moments

In 2000 while on This Morning Madeley dressed up and impersonated the comic Ali G and talked to / was interviewed by his wife, Judy. His impersonation, whilst astonishingly accurate, and was met with widespread ridicule. ^[4]

When the pair received an award for Most Popular Daytime Programme at the 2000 National Television Awards, Finnigan's dress accidentally dropped down exposing her ample cleavage, shielded only by a portion of her very practical bra to a television audience of millions. Initially, the couple seemed to believe that the crowd was laughing and cheering for a rendition of Madeley's notorious Ali G impersonation rather than the sight of Judy's bust. When Finnigan realized what had happened, she appeared momentarily horrified, whereas Madeley appeared to relish the situation, and quickly ad-libbed: "And if we win next year, she'll show you the other one!"

In 1997, Finnigan asked Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant, who is openly gay, how his wife was doing.

Notes

References

Richard Madeley & Judy Finnigan Biographical notes. The Biography Channel. Retrieved 2007-08-27.

One of Us, The Guardian Unlimited, Claire Phipps, 2000-10-12. Retrieved 2007-08-27. |240px|Carlisle (