Judy Finnigan
Encyclopedia
Judith "Judy" Finnigan is a British television presenter and columnist. She has usually co-presented with her husband, Richard Madeley
, and the two are collectively known, informally, as Richard and Judy
. With her husband, Finnigan has presented This Morning
and later their daily chat show called Richard & Judy
.
(TV actor), Baron Morris
of Manchester, Sir Harold Evans
(former Editor of The Times and The Sunday Times) and Paul Red (journalist). Finnigan then went on to attend Manchester High School for Girls
, 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.
. They have two children together, both born in Manchester: Jack Christopher (born 1986) and Chloe Susannah
(born 1987). Finnigan has twin sons - Dan and Tom (born 1977) - from her first marriage with journalist David Henshaw.
, which they hosted from its inception in 1988 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 many people referred to it by their names, Richard and Judy, rather than This Morning.
to host a similar show, simply called Richard & Judy
, shown for an hour in the early evenings.
The show was produced by Cactus TV
, run by Jonathan Ross
' brother Simon 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, Madeley and Finnigan took the decision to suspend the daily quiz until further notice. Later that week, the news media confirmed that police investigations would be pursued, meaning the couple could be subject to a police interview. Channel 4 have admitted the scam may have been in force for two series of the show. Whilst Madeley and Finnigan 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. This scam was revealed by the Mail on Sunday newspaper after it was sold the story through media publicist Jonathan Hartley.
The TV show 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
. The book club featured literature by new and unknown writers. One book was reviewed each week and the winner, named "Read of the Year," was announced at an awards ceremony.
In July 2008, Judy finally received a long-awaited knee operation and took a short leave of absence from the show in order to fully recuperate from the surgery. During this time Madeley was joined by guest presenters Emma Bunton
and Myleene Klass
and even presented one edition of the show on his own (Wednesday 23 July 2008).
In 2008 it was announced that their Channel 4 series which began in June would be the last for the programme, which ended on 22 August 2008. However, they signed a contract for a new primetime show on UKTV's new channel, Watch. Their new show still contained popular features such as the "Book Club" and "Summer Read".
's brand new digital channel, Watch
. From 7 October 2008, "Richard and Judy’s New Position" showed weeknights from 8pm. The show attracted very low viewing figures, with only 200,000 people for the first episode, and 53,000 for the second. Viewing figures since had consistently fallen, reaching new lows of just 11,000 viewers; their Channel 4 programme would see figures as high as 2.5 million. Consequentially, on 8 May 2009 it was announced that the show would end in July, the presenters claiming in a statement that viewers "simply couldn't find us".
. The videos were released during 1995 to mark the soap's 35th anniversary.
In 1998, Judy also solely presented the ITV
Watchdog
style show "We Can Work It Out" for its first series before being taken over by the late Caron Keating
in its second series.
Both co-wrote their autobiography, Richard and Judy: The Autobiography, in 2002, published by Hodder & Stoughton
.
Richard Madeley
Richard Madeley is a British television presenter and columnist. With his wife Judy Finnigan, Madeley has presented This Morning and later the weekday chat show Richard & Judy...
, and the two are collectively known, informally, as Richard and Judy
Richard and Judy
Richard and Judy is the name informally given to Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, a married couple who are both British television presenters and columnists. Since their marriage, their television appearances have been largely made as a couple. They are best known for presenting This Morning and...
. With her husband, Finnigan has presented This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
and later their daily chat show called Richard & Judy
Richard & Judy
Richard & Judy was a British magazine/chat show which was presented by married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. It originally aired on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2008 but later moved to digital channel Watch in October 2008. It featured the world's most famous stars, along with their Book Club...
.
Biography
Finnigan was born in the Parish of Newton Heath, Manchester on 16 May 1948. She attended the local Briscoe Lane Primary School whose alumni include Michael Atherton OBE, Michael Le VellMichael Le Vell
Michael Le Vell is an English character actor, who since 1983 has played the role of garage mechanic, Kevin Webster, in the soap opera Coronation Street....
(TV actor), Baron Morris
Baron Morris
Baron Morris, of St John’s in the Dominion of Newfoundland and of the City of Waterford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1918 for the lawyer and politician Sir Edward Morris upon his retirement as Premier of Newfoundland....
of Manchester, Sir Harold Evans
Harold Evans
Sir Harold Matthew Evans is a British-born journalist and writer who was editor of The Sunday Times from 1967 to 1981. He has written various books on history and journalism...
(former Editor of The Times and The Sunday Times) and Paul Red (journalist). Finnigan then went on to attend Manchester High School for Girls
Manchester High School for Girls
Manchester High School for Girls is an independent daytime school for girls and a member of the Girls School Association. It is situated in Fallowfield, Manchester, United Kingdom...
, an independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
in the city, and later studied English and Drama at Bristol University
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
. She joined Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
as a researcher in 1971, and in 1974 moved to Anglia TV
Anglia Television
Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
to become the first female reporter on the About Anglia
About Anglia
About Anglia, first broadcast in 1960, is the flagship television news magazine for Anglia Television. Its original presenter was Dick Joice....
news team. In 1980 she returned to Granada in Manchester, working on a range of programmes including Flying Start (with Anthony Wilson
Tony Wilson
Anthony Howard Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson , was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC....
), Granada Reports
Granada Reports
Granada Reports is the flagship regional news programme of ITV franchisee Granada, presented by Tony Morris and Lucy Meacock, and serving the North West of England and the Isle of Man....
and Scramble.
Work with Richard Madeley
They met in 1982 when they worked on separate programmes for Granada TV. At this time each was in their first marriage. The couple married in 1986 in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. They have two children together, both born in Manchester: Jack Christopher (born 1986) and Chloe Susannah
Chloe Madeley
Chloe Madeley is a British television presenter, freelance journalist, and model. She is the daughter of Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan.-Early life:Madeley was born in Manchester...
(born 1987). Finnigan has twin sons - Dan and Tom (born 1977) - from her first marriage with journalist David Henshaw.
This Morning
Their best known show was This MorningThis Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
, which they hosted from its inception in 1988 until 2001. The series, a mix of celebrity interviews, household tips, cookery and phone-ins lasted approximately two hours each weekday morning on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. 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
Albert Dock
The Albert Dock is a complex of dock buildings and warehouses in Liverpool, England. Designed by Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick, it was opened in 1846, and was the first structure in Britain to be built from cast iron, brick and stone, with no structural wood...
in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, although production moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1996. They were so closely associated with the show, that many 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 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
to host a similar show, simply called Richard & Judy
Richard & Judy
Richard & Judy was a British magazine/chat show which was presented by married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. It originally aired on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2008 but later moved to digital channel Watch in October 2008. It featured the world's most famous stars, along with their Book Club...
, shown for an hour in the early evenings.
The show was produced by Cactus TV
Cactus TV
Cactus TV is an English based television show production company.They produce the shows Richard & Judy for Watch, and "Saturday Kitchen" for BBC One.-Company:...
, run by Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
' brother Simon 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, Madeley and Finnigan took the decision to suspend the daily quiz until further notice. Later that week, the news media confirmed that police investigations would be pursued, meaning the couple could be subject to a police interview. Channel 4 have admitted the scam may have been in force for two series of the show. Whilst Madeley and Finnigan 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. This scam was revealed by the Mail on Sunday newspaper after it was sold the story through media publicist Jonathan Hartley.
The TV show 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
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
. The book club featured literature by new and unknown writers. One book was reviewed each week and the winner, named "Read of the Year," was announced at an awards ceremony.
In July 2008, Judy finally received a long-awaited knee operation and took a short leave of absence from the show in order to fully recuperate from the surgery. During this time Madeley was joined by guest presenters Emma Bunton
Emma Bunton
Emma Lee Bunton is an English pop singer/songwriter and TV and radio presenter. She was a member of the 1990s girl group, the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Baby Spice as she was the youngest member. In 2010, she joined the judging panel on ITV's Dancing on Ice...
and Myleene Klass
Myleene Klass
Myleene Angela Quinn is an English singer, pianist, media personality and occasional model. She was formerly a member of the defunct British pop band Hear'Say.-Early life:...
and even presented one edition of the show on his own (Wednesday 23 July 2008).
In 2008 it was announced that their Channel 4 series which began in June would be the last for the programme, which ended on 22 August 2008. However, they signed a contract for a new primetime show on UKTV's new channel, Watch. Their new show still contained popular features such as the "Book Club" and "Summer Read".
Move to Watch
After seven successful years at Channel Four, Richard and Judy began hosting a topical prime-time chat show on UKTVUKTV
UKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
's brand new digital channel, Watch
Watch (TV channel)
Watch is a general entertainment channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as part of the UKTV network. The channel launched on 7 October 2008 on satellite through Sky and on cable primarily through Virgin Media.-History:...
. From 7 October 2008, "Richard and Judy’s New Position" showed weeknights from 8pm. The show attracted very low viewing figures, with only 200,000 people for the first episode, and 53,000 for the second. Viewing figures since had consistently fallen, reaching new lows of just 11,000 viewers; their Channel 4 programme would see figures as high as 2.5 million. Consequentially, on 8 May 2009 it was announced that the show would end in July, the presenters claiming in a statement that viewers "simply couldn't find us".
Other work
Finnigan presented a series of video-only specials, looking at a particular character of Coronation StreetCoronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
. The videos were released during 1995 to mark the soap's 35th anniversary.
In 1998, Judy also solely presented the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
Watchdog
Watchdog
Watchdog may refer to:Dog*Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presenceIn computing* Watchdog timer, a device in computer softwareConsumer protection...
style show "We Can Work It Out" for its first series before being taken over by the late Caron Keating
Caron Keating
Caron Louisa Keating was a Northern Irish television presenter on British and Northern Irish television.-Early life and education:...
in its second series.
Both co-wrote their autobiography, Richard and Judy: The Autobiography, in 2002, published by Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
.